Tima's Season 2
by Tima
Summary: Demona broods over news reports about Elisa and her child, but can't figure out why she is so filled with rage until old thoughts remind her of a time when she wasn't so alone...Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. Please don't sue me. Pretty Please?_**

**_Author's note_**: I must endorse my buddy, Ingram's work. It is very realistic and is written very well. His saga is riveting and I have a (VERY) small hand in editing that bad boy. Read on my friends! Read on!

**_PS: Thank you for ALL the emails I have received and continue to receive. I love reading them ! Feel free to continue emailing me! Tell me how I am doing now that my ficverse is turning another page... Carrying a Torch_**

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**_9:03pm, July 31_**

Demona sat brooding in her bedroom on a warm night in July. She had just finished watching the news report about that detective Maza giving birth to a child whom she had named Adam, and then how the child had been kidnapped shortly after birth, and how the heroic efforts by the gargoyles, who were now public entities, to rescue the child had resulted in the apprehension of Dominic Dracon. Demona watched this news report on WVRN and felt her loathing of Elisa Maza heightening to the umpteenth degree. Scenes flashed upon the screen of Elisa holding her newborn son, smiling, though looking exhausted, and thanking the gargoyles for helping her to bring back her son.

"That wretched whore!" Demona had cried, throwing the remote control at the television screen. "The nerve! Thanking the clan for something that was never their business to begin with!" She spat out angrily.

"Detective! Detective! How do you feel"  
"How is your son doing"  
"Had you ever come into contact with the gargoyles before this incident"  
"Do you speak to them on a regular basis?"

The reporters threw out question after question to Elisa. Though she was bombarded with question after question, she remained calm and relaxed, and continued smiling. She turned to one reporter who didn't appear on camera, and said, "My son is doing wonderfully, and I'm alright. To answer your question," she pointed to another reporter off-camera, "Yes, I had been in contact with the gargoyles before hand. I just thank goodness that they were there to help me that night, because otherwise, I would have lost my son."

One reporter then asked, "Is it true that you delivered your son at the Eyrie Building, which is the headquarters of Xanatos Enterprises?" Elisa thought for a moment before answering.

"Yes, and before you ask what I think you're going to ask me, yes, David Xanatos and I are friends. He had a great doctor that I trusted, and so I felt I would benefit from Mr. Xanatos' facilities."

"One final question, Detective Maza? Is there any validity to the rumours that Mr.  
Xanatos is harbouring the gargoyles atop his building?" Elisa shook her head undecidedly.

"Not that I know of, but you'd have to ask him about that." She then waved her hand and said, "Excuse me; I have to get back to my son now. Thanks for your time everyone." With that, she turned away from the camera. The camera then focused upon the reporter, who sent it back to the station.

Demona shut the television off immediately after that. She was fuming with anger and frustration. To cool off a bit, she decided to take an evening glide around the city. She walked over to the large bay window of her room and spread her wings to catch a current.

She took flight and soared as high as she could above the city. Her thoughts swam in her mind. She was incredibly angry and outraged.  
Something confused her, however. Why was she so very mad at Elisa Maza? Besides the fact that she had helped the gargoyles thwart her attempts to destroy all humanity a few times, as well as saved the clan from destruction at Demona's hands a few times as well, what was making Demona so furious at Elisa?

She flew over Times Square, trying to piece together why she was so upset over the news that Elisa had become a mother. Obviously, she knew about this fact. Angela had even had the courage to invite her to attend Elisa's baby shower a nearly a month ago, though she must have known that Demona would reject the invitation. She knew it was inevitable that the detective would give birth, but why was this news suddenly so disgusting to Demona?

It was just like her daughter to try to get her involved, though. She was such a good gargoyle. Angela always tried to look past someone's past mistakes and make a fresh start with them. Since that meeting where Angela had invited Demona to the shower, she had not seen her daughter. She frowned at herself for being harsh with her daughter. What had she said to her? Oh yes…

"Mother, you are all alone in this world. Except for me, that is. I don't want you to be alone when you have family—a clan—that will always be here awaiting your return to us."

Demona scoffed out loud. The clan is definitely not awaiting my return with open arms as Angela said, she thought. Goliath has decided to turn his back on tradition and gargoyle custom and has befriended and most probably mated with that whore, Elisa Maza! He has become a human lover, and has forgotten the true gargoyle way. He and I were mated, and in gargoyle tradition, and that means forever! Though he has forgotten, I will never forget that vow we made to each other all those centuries ago…

She realised just then that the flame still burned within her for Goliath. Though she had tried to kill him on numerous occasions, she knew there was a fine line between love and hate, and that tonight she knew which side of that very thin divide she was on.

She had not intended to glide past that part of the city, but when she realised that she was only a few blocks away from the detective's new apartment, she couldn't help but want to see if she were there with her son.  
Demona had no intention to cause her harm—at least not tonight.

Sure enough, as Demona glided towards the apartment,  
the light shone through the window, telling Demona that she now had to be careful upon her approach so as not to be seen. As she swooped closer, she saw the distinct outline of a large gargoyle through the sliding door to the balcony. Blast,  
Demona thought, Goliath is there. I must tread carefully now.

Demona stopped on the roof of a neighbouring apartment building so as to be able to see what was happening undetected. She gazed in the direction of Elisa's apartment, and saw exactly what was going on. Goliath stood in front of the sliding door with his arm around Elisa's shoulder while she held her son in her arms. They were both peering down at the child, who was barely moving. Demona could see the serene look on Goliath's face as he studied the slumbering child in Elisa's arms, and Demona's blood boiled suddenly. Unaware of why she was suddenly so angry, she forced herself to look away from the scene for a few moments to gather her thoughts again. Before she could truly do that, she saw from the corner of her eye, that there was some movement again from the apartment.  
Goliath had opened the sliding door and appeared to be saying his goodbyes to the detective for the evening. She still held the sleeping child in her arms. Goliath stroked her hair away from her face. Demona could see that he said something to her that made her grin sickeningly. She said something in reply that Demona was almost thankful she hadn't heard. He then bent his head down towards her and rubbed his brow ridge to her forehead, kissed her lips softly, and then enfolded her and her son within his wings briefly before spreading them again and departing into the night. Demona cringed at the scene, but had remembered why her blood boiled.

Her mind drifted back to a time when she was not alone, or consumed by revenge or hatred. Back in 994, when things were simpler…

**_990, Scotland…_**

Goliath and his friend, the gargoyle female that would eventually be named Demona, were gliding outside of the castle limits together, enjoying another clear night and some time of peace together without wars or fighting to think about. Goliath had actually come up with the idea of their gliding away from the castle. He said he had something to talk to her about in private.

As they glided through the damp Scottish air, she couldn't help but be a bit curious as to what they needed to speak about, and where they were actually going. This proud and incredibly handsome young gargoyle, who was surely in line to be the next leader of the clan in the coming years, had grown more and more in friendship with her over the last few weeks. They were almost inseparable, and confided in each other first over any other in the clan. In human years, they would be nearly 17, though they had both already reached full gargoyle maturity. The youth and innocence in both gargoyles' eyes was unmistakable. Both had yet been untainted by loss, anger, vengeance, and hatred.

She harboured serious feelings of attraction to him,  
but was unsure if his feelings were reciprocated. She favoured him over all the others of their hatching year, both in intellect and appearance. He was strong, and resourceful. On more than one occasion, his quick thoughts had helped the clan defend the castle successfully from invaders. His lavender skin was flawless, as was his wingspan. His ebony hair shone in the moonlight and made every female swoon. His face was the subject of many a stone dream from the female gargoyle population. Also, his noble manner and confident speech had made him quite popular with all the females of their year, and not just his close friend. So when he had approached her and asked that they speak in private, she was all too quick to reply with an excited, "Yes!"

When they finally reached their destination according to him, they landed upon a cliff which overlooked the castle and the surrounding area. It was a marvellous sight to take in. The castle truly was a wonder to see,  
even at night. The torches lit throughout created tiny speckles of light that magnified its radiance ever more at night. She was in awe. The young male pointed to the castle, and said, "Isn't it incredible?"

"Oh yes," She replied. "Our home is lovely at night." She beamed and turned to face him.

"My friend, besides this splendid view, why are we here? You said you needed to speak to me with regards to something important…"

The handsome male looked as if he were trying to find words just then. He found them a moment later and began.

"As you know, the mating season is nearly upon us."

"Yes, that is true. Before we know it, it will be here and then gone." She replied.  
"A few of our rookery brothers and sisters have already picked their mates for the impending season."

He nodded. "Indeed. It is a wonderful thing to be mated with the right gargoyle. My wise brother, for example, has picked a fine mate. You know to whom I refer."

"Yes, the dark skinned gargoyle. She is exceptionally beautiful. Her skin is immaculate."

He nodded slightly so as to agree with her, though he didn't really agree that she was exceptionally beautiful. She was decent he supposed, but he preferred gargoyles with blue skin, especially the one standing before him, praising the looks of another female. He laughed internally.

"Yes, I suppose, but she is a skilled huntress as well. That is a great quality to have in a mate, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh, yes. I would have to agree. That is indeed a good ability to possess. I sometimes wish that I had more skill in that field, however."

"You have great skill as a huntress as well, my friend. You are a far better huntress than the dark skinned one." He felt warm from her look upon him. "—At least from the evidence I have seen."

She blushed at his compliment. "You do not have to flatter me, friend."

"I do not attempt to flatter you. I speak only truth."

She stared out onto the scene of the castle before them. "In any case, I sometimes wish that I were as beautiful as she…I was cursed with this wretched blue skin…"

He stepped closer to her. "No, it was not a curse. Your skin is one of your many lovely features. It suits you, and I daresay that you are much more beautiful than the dark skinned one as well," Again, he felt flushed. "—I mean, uh, to me." She turned to him, and looked happy but confused.

Now was the time to tell her the reason for bringing her to that cliff.

"Friend, I wanted to confess something to you." He said, looking at her meaningfully.

She was still confused.

"What have you done, my friend? Whatever it is, we can decide upon a course of action together with the rest of the clan…"

"Well, it isn't what I have done. It is rather what I wish to do now." She grew in confusion, but said nothing. When she kept her silence, he continued.

"My friend, my dear friend, I must confess to you that I have grown to care a great deal more for you than the boundaries of friendship would allow." At this point, he took her hands into his.

"I have fallen in love with you. I would die a content and happy gargoyle tomorrow knowing that you had consented to becoming my mate." Her jaw dropped. "What say you?" He asked hopefully. She was still in disbelief. He had just asked her to be his mate. This was something that she had been hoping for, and it had happened! She composed herself, beamed happily, nodded and said, "I say yes!" With that, he released her hands, and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms, and then his wings around her.

_**993, Castle Wyvern**_

Goliath returned from a meeting with the head of the Guard for Princess Katharine. He had been named Leader of the clan a few months ago,  
and had needed to attend meetings with security every night before gliding to meet his mate, who was now his second in command as well. This evening, his angel of the night had remained with the hatchlings because she was deep in thought. Her thoughts were of the egg she had laid only weeks ago. Goliath came to search for her and found her in the rookery with their egg. She heard footsteps coming from behind her and turned to see the smiling face of her mate.

"My love, are you alright?" He asked sweetly, kneeling down beside her and taking her hand in his. She looked at him lovingly.

"Yes, my mate. I was contemplating our egg. I know that hatchlings belong to the entire clan but I cannot help but feel protective of our egg." He smiled.

"I understand, night angel. But what you say is right. This child is the child of all of us."

She turned back to the egg, cleaning it of some dust it had already accumulated on its shell.

"This hatchling will be strong and courageous, just like its father." She smiled at Goliath. He touched the egg with his hand and smiled as well.

"And beautiful and cunning just like its mother." He leaned over to his angel and touched his brow ridges to hers.

"I do wish that I have given you a male hatchling, love."

"A male would give the clan great joy, including myself. I have heard superstitions that say that if a male is produced, both the male and female are strong and healthy."

"In that case, my love, it surely will be a boy." She turned back to Goliath. "I love you. And I am so proud to have had your hatchling."

"And I love you, my Angel of the Night. You and I are one, now and forever." He stood up, holding her hands, causing her to rise as well. They then enfolded one another in each other's wings. She felt so comforted, so loved, so precious. This feeling, she thought, will never end. He loves me with his entire being. Nothing and no one will ever come between us. This hatchling is proof of our love. By the dragon,  
how in love we are!

The embrace ended, and she looked once more upon the egg they had created together. Bending and extending a hand to the egg, she said, "I shall see you soon, my child." Rising again, she took Goliath's hand and walked out of the rookery with him.

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Of course! That's why Demona was angered by Elisa's bastard child and the sight of Goliath and Elisa together. She had wished to give Goliath a son, but her dream was not fulfilled. When Xanatos had reawakened the clan, Demona had visions of having another egg with him, but she instantly saw that his human-loving nature had grown to intolerable levels, and had to sway him back to the gargoyle side before even thinking about mating with him again. She had tried,  
though. She tried on different occasions, but with no luck. He had forgotten their vow to each other at Prince Duncan's wedding, and had lost a part of his gargoyle nature. He had given up, not her. It was his fault that they were not still mated,  
and that she was not a part of the clan. More specifically, especially now, it was Elisa Maza's fault. Ever since she had befriended the clan, Goliath had turned away entirely from Demona. Her anger mounted until she roared loudly.

"AH! That damned human! Every attempt to rid myself of her has failed miserably, and only brought them closer together. There must be some way to destroy her!" She yelled out in frustration. "Angela was right. I am alone in this world. I shouldn't be alone, though. I should be at Goliath's side, instead of that infernal human." She said aloud.  
She was extremely bitter towards Goliath for choosing another, but Demona felt that this phase in his life would pass and he would return to her in time. Demona smiled to herself.

"If the detective were truly gone, he would have to return to me—if only for comfort and remembrance of times past." She chuckled to herself as her mind began brewing evil plans. "That's it exactly!" She cried. Still laughing her maniacal laugh, she spread her wings and headed for her estate once more. There were phone calls she had to make.

**_August 1, 1:18 pm Elisa's apartment_**

Elisa enjoyed an uneventful sleep that morning and for the first two hours of the afternoon, except of course for the crying of her son in the next room. Though she was exhausted from the events of the last few days, and being hounded by the press, she rose from her bed every time contentedly to check up on her tiny little boy. Finally, after a few more hours of sleep since he cried, she decided that now would be the time to awaken for good.

She rose from her bed, slipped her light robe on, her fluffy slippers on, and walked out of her bedroom to check up on Adam. Once in his room, she opened the blinds slightly, to allow her to get a good look at her son in the afternoon light. It was a gorgeous August afternoon, and the sun's rays burst into the baby's room, causing the room to look alive and ecstatic. Elisa smiled to herself as she peered down at her son. He was still sleeping. She had already changed his diaper and fed him nearly two hours ago, so he was taking advantage of the fact that he required nothing but sleep at the moment. Elisa brought her hand to his angelic head to smooth out the little puff of hair upon his head. It looked as if it had doubled since the last time she saw it.  
"We'll have to cut your hair in no time, Adam." She mused quietly. She stood at his crib for what felt like only a minute when she heard a knock at her door. Looking down at herself to make sure she was decent to receive visitors, she walked out of the baby's room, shut the door almost completely, and walked to answer it. Looking through the peephole, she saw the welcome faces of her parents.

She unlocked the door, turned off the security alarm (installed by Xanatos), and opened the door, ready to receive massive embraces. She wasn't disappointed.

"Elisa! My darling, how are you?" Her mother said as she gathered her eldest daughter in a fierce hug.

"Good mom. In pain right now, though." She joked, as her mom nearly crushed her ribs with the hug. She released her, and then stepped out of the way for her father to join in the hug.

"How's Adam?" Peter Maza asked as he hugged his daughter warmly. She motioned to the nearly closed bedroom door.

"Wanna see for yourself, dad?" She asked with a smile. Wordlessly, she led the way to Adam's bedroom, opened the door, and let her parents enter the room first. They walked up to the crib and awed.

"He is an angel."

"I can't help but see a resemblance to you when you were that age, Elisa."

With her arms folded across her chest, she smiled as she approached the crib behind them.

"Yeah, but I probably wasn't nearly as perfect as him, though." She reached into the crib and adjusted the light blanket over him, and then stroked his forehead. "He should be ready to eat in a little while. Then you guys can hold him. In the meantime, do you want some coffee and sandwiches?"

"Sure, honey. That sounds good."

The three Mazas sat on Elisa's new leather couch,  
each with a cup of coffee in their hands.

"Man, am I glad that I can drink coffee again! I thought I would go crazy without the java…" She took another sip of her coffee and smiled.

Peter laughed. "Being a cop probably didn't help that much." Elisa and Diane laughed along with him.

"You can say that again, dad." She giggled, and then sipped her coffee again.

"So, Elisa, how has it been being a mother?" Diane asked as she stirred her coffee.

"It's interesting. Adam is only three days old, but he's already growing before my eyes. Pretty soon he'll be walking!" She laughed. Peter drank the last drop of his coffee and then rose to put the mug in the kitchen.

"…Or going off to Police academy." He smiled, suddenly looking wistful and walked into the kitchen.

"Or graduating from university." Diane added.

"I know what you mean, guys." Elisa replied. Just then, the newborn cries of Adam Maza echoed throughout the apartment through the baby monitor and through the semi-closed door of his room. Elisa rose from her seat.

"Be right back with Adam." She said, walking towards the room. Her cooing could be heard from the living room. Diane Maza smiled at her husband as Elisa walked back into the living room holding her son delicately in her arms.

"Mom, can you hold him for just a second while I get his milk?" Diane beamed as she outstretched her arms.

"Of course! Let me see my grandson." Elisa put Adam into his grandmother's arms deliberately, then turned to the kitchen again. Peter Maza took a seat beside his wife and gazed upon his first grandchild while Elisa grabbed a small bottle of milk from the kitchen and returned.

"Elisa, you aren't breast feeding?" Diane asked when she saw the bottle in her daughter's hand. Peter cringed.

"Do you two have to talk about that with me around, Diane?" Diane chuckled lightly.

"Sorry, Peter. But the question remains…" She persisted. Elisa shook her head.

"Mom, let's just say I tried, and it was painful, so I'm doing it this way."

She pointed to an empty box that had the picture of a woman and her child, along with some sort of machine on the box. Peter decided against asking what the box was for, since he had a pretty good idea. Again, he cringed, and Diane nodded her head, then looked down at her grandson who was still crying for his meal. Elisa sat on the other side of her mother and took her son out of her arms. She began rocking him slowly back and forth. "Shhh, little one. Here you go, baby. That's right. Momma's here." Elisa cooed, putting the tip of the bottle at the baby's mouth. He greedily began sucking on it. As they watched this touching scene silently, Diane and Peter Maza joined hands. They both had tears in their eyes.

Diane brought her mouth to Peter's ear. "Maybe we should go, darling. Any longer,  
and I'll be crying like Adam was a moment ago." Peter nodded, and rose.

"Elisa, honey, we're going to leave you two alone now. We'll pass by tomorrow"  
Diane kissed her daughter on the top of her head, and then made towards the door.  
Elisa got up as she still fed Adam and walked with them to the door.

"Thanks for stopping by mom, dad. We'll expect you to be over tomorrow."

Peter touched his grandson's head, followed by Diane. "Bye Adam. See you tomorrow"  
She said, then looked up at Elisa. "We love you, dear. We'll see you tomorrow. If you need anything—"

"Yes, mom, I'll call you guys. Thanks for everything. See you." She smiled and watched as her parents left the apartment. Closing the door behind them, locking it and turning the alarm on, she turned back to her primary objective. She walked back to Adam's bedroom and sat with Adam on the rocking chair. He had slowed down on his sucking and was now closing his eyes sleepily.

"You sleepy again, huh? Are you? That's ok, baby. Momma's going to make sure you get all the sleep you need. Yes, that's right little one." Elisa whispered.

**_Nightstone Unlimited, 3:08 pm._**

Dominique Destine sat at her desk, and dialled a ten digit phone number. She was calling France.

"Bon soir, monsieur Levesque. Ça c'est Dominique Destine. Avez-vous fait comme j'ai demandé? Vous l'avez trouvé ? Oui…ah, mais oui. Ça c'est très, très bien. Merci beaucoup pour votre information, monsieur Levesque. Je vais vous contacter bientôt.  
Au revoir." (_Hello Mr. Levesque, this is Dominique Destine. Have you done as I asked? Did you find him? Yes, oh yes…that is very good. Thank you for your information, Mr. Levesque. I will contact you soon. Good bye.)_

She hung up the phone looking very satisfied with herself and her latest phone call.  
She turned from her desk and chuckled.

"Now that I know he is alive, everything will fall into place, and I will finally rid myself of Elisa Maza once and for all!" She turned back to the phone and picked the receiver up.

"Stacey, book me a flight to Paris for first thing in the morning."


	2. Chapter 2: Short Notice

**_Disclaimer:  
I created Adam Maza, everyone else is owned by Disney. These stories are written for  
pleasure, not for profit. Please don't sue me. Oh pretty please?_**

AN: It's awesome to finally have time to write again...damn school...be prepared to  
see my ficverse advance ALOT in the next few months! Enjoy!

**Thanks to Ingram again! You are awesome dude!**

**_2-Short Notice_**

_August 28, 1997…_

Jon Castaway, as he now called himself, walked triumphantly into the Quarrymen's  
headquarters in the old dance studio in Queens, New York. In his hand, he carried  
his hammer, which was smudged with dust and slightly chipped at the edges. He had  
just been gargoyle-smashing. His sister, Robin, walked tiredly behind him, also  
carrying a hammer, though hers wasn't nearly as dirty and used as his. She removed  
her dark blue Quarrymen's hood as she walked behind her brother.

When they reached the meeting hall, they were met by a congregation of loyal  
Quarrymen that were expecting them. Jon waved at his followers, who then shouted out  
their praise of him. He walked up to the podium and waved his hammer, causing the  
layer of dust to fly off of it.

"My friends, I checked out that park in the Bronx that had the statues in question.  
We have destroyed those statues! Three less gargoyles!" He shouted, and looked over  
at his sister, who had just finished rolling her eyes again. Luckily, he was too  
preoccupied to have noticed this gesture of annoyance.

"The only gargoyle clan in New York is the clan we fought, and they wouldn't be  
sleeping in the Bronx. They are in Manhattan. That was a waste of three hours."  
Robin said under her breath, amidst the cries and hurrahs of the crowd.

"Thank you for waiting for us to return. We may now discuss what is to be done with  
Detective Maza. She gave birth about a month ago. She has sufficiently recovered  
from her ordeal with the gangster, she's had her time with her son, and now it's  
time to avenge her betrayal of her own race!" Jon screamed. The crowd cheered,  
raising their silver hammers in approval.  
"We shall begin surveillance of her in the coming nights, and, when the time is  
right, we exact our revenge! For humankind!"  
"For humankind!" The crowd answered.

Angela awoke that night with the largest smile upon her face. She stretched and  
shook off the remaining stone skin from her shoulders and arms, and stepped down  
from the ledge she roosted upon. On either side of her, Broadway and Lexington were  
waking as well, and doing the same as she had done. As Broadway stepped down, he  
extended his taloned hand to her. When she took it, he pulled her into a tight  
embrace.

"Slept well, love?" Broadway asked as he inhaled the intoxicating scent of Angela's  
hair. She nodded slowly, still wrapped in his arms, and enjoying every second that  
she was entangled there.

"Mmhmm. You?"

"Yeah, I did." He released her slightly, but still retained the tender hold of her  
hand. He urged her to walk towards the courtyard, their favourite place on the  
castle grounds. As they walked, Broadway smiled at Angela.

"Angela, we should really set a date now that things have died down and are slightly  
back to normal." Angela grinned.

"I agree. Elisa is feeling much better, Adam is doing very well, and there haven't  
been any attacks lately. Perhaps we should discuss this with Father first."  
Broadway nodded. He knew she was going to say something to that effect.

"Let's go see if he's available before we go on patrol."

"Father, we would like to discuss our mating ceremony."

"Certainly, Angela. When did you have in mind?"

"Well, uh, Goliath, we weren't really sure what the protocol was for these sorts of  
things, and since you've already been—" Broadway stopped suddenly when Angela  
'accidentally' stepped on his toe. He cleared his throat, and began that thought  
again.

"Since you have experience in this matter…"

Goliath looked down, exhaled, and shook his head.

"You need not tiptoe around this subject with me, Broadway. I cannot forget the vows  
I made, or the promises that were broken, nor can I pretend that these events ever  
happened." He sighed, then drew his attention upon his daughter, who was obviously  
distressed at even the insinuation of Demona's betrayal. It was still a touchy  
subject, but he was getting over it. He was already much better about the issue than  
he had been two years ago. Goliath smiled at the realization that he took the issue  
much more lightly than before.

"Angela, my experience in this matter should be put to good use. You and Broadway  
may ask me anything you wish."  
A relieved look replaced that of distress upon Angela's face.

"Thank you, Father. We just wanted to ask how long we should wait before planning  
for our ceremony."

"Have you thought about how you would like to proceed with it? Will it be modern or  
traditional?"

Broadway nodded. "Actually, we wanted to do things traditionally. I remember your  
mating ceremony. I described it to Angela, and we both agree that we'd like that  
sort of ceremony for ours."

"But we also wanted to add little touches to signify our lives here, in Manhattan  
and in his century." Angela added, touching the gold pendant that Broadway had given  
her as an engagement present of sorts.

"So something simple and quick, then? Just the clan? It would be fitting." Goliath  
commented.

"But how far in advance should we set the date? I mean, is it too impetuous to ask  
for the ceremony in a week?" Angela asked, releasing her pendant and reaching for  
Broadway's hand.

Goliath shook his mighty head and smiled at the couple, who seemed so excited to  
become mates. They reminded him of when he and Demona asked the leader of their  
clan, Hudson, to become mates. He frowned for a split second, and then realised that  
the couple were still looking at him. He snapped out of his reverie and took Angela's  
hands in his.

"Angela, if you truly wanted, we could have it tomorrow night. I would just have to  
inform the Labyrinth clan and Elisa, and everything could be ready for then."  
Angela suddenly looked contented. She turned to Broadway and said, "Tomorrow night  
it is, then?" Broadway smiled.

"Awesome idea, love. After our patrols, I'll go with Hudson to the Labyrinth to let  
Talon and the others know about our mating ceremony." He kissed Angela's cheek and  
hurried off towards the rest of the clan who were preparing to take flight for the  
patrols. Angela wrapped her arms around her father briefly. When she released him,  
she smiled and said, "Thank you, Father." With that, she, too, hurried off towards  
the rest of the clan. Goliath smiled as he watched his only daughter taking flight  
with her future mate. He couldn't help but feel so incredibly proud of Angela at  
that moment. He turned towards the ledge and unfurled his massive wings to catch a  
breeze and accompany his clan on patrol.

The door to Elisa's apartment rattled as a key slid into the keyhole and unlocked  
the deadbolt. The door swung open long enough for a tired Elisa to walk through the  
door, holding in her left hand, the baby carrier, and over her right shoulder, a  
blue diaper bag. She carefully set down her cargo while she turned and shut the door  
behind her, locking it again. She kneeled down to see the angelic face of her son. He  
was deep in sleep, for he was not moving very much. Though Elisa had caught herself  
staring at her son on at least four separate occasions, she was determined to get  
her chores done for the evening before seeing Goliath, so she rose from her spot and  
picked up the carrier. She walked over to Adam's room and gently unbuckled the safety  
belts that kept the newborn from flying out of his seat. She picked up the sleeping  
boy from the carrier, causing him to stir in his sleep. He moved about a bit until  
Elisa set him down upon the changing table. The angel boy's eyes widened as he  
watched his mother caring for him. Elisa loved the way he watched her. These eyes  
were innocent, pure, and they had only seen good things, and only watched people  
that loved him. True, Dominic Dracon had kidnapped him for a few hours, and Adam had  
surely seen his grandfather, but in his own sick way he did that because he cared for  
Adam. Elisa shuddered at that thought, and then concentrated on getting Adam ready  
for his bedtime.

Elisa had taken some of her mother's most valuable advice. _'Put Adam on a strict  
schedule'_, she had told Elisa, and Elisa was in accord. So every night, Adam was  
put to bed at 7pm, whether he wanted to sleep or not. Thus far, however, he always  
seemed to welcome sleep. _"It is something that comes with newborns," _her  
mother told her._ "They always want to sleep. Cherish it!"_ And Elisa did. The  
minute she saw that Adam had fallen asleep, she, either did chores around the  
apartment, or took the opportunity to sleep, too.

This night was no exception. She bathed Adam, gave him a bottle, and changed him  
into adorable baby blue pyjamas that Matt had purchased for him. She held her son in  
her arms, smoothing out his hair and kissing his forehead sweetly before placing him  
in his crib and pulling the thin sheet over him. Watching him for a few more  
seconds, she grew misty-eyed, then shut the lights off and walked out of the room,  
leaving the door ajar.

She then set out to clean the kitchen, fold some laundry and relax a bit before  
Goliath made an appearance.

By 9:30, Elisa was finished, and even had some time to prepare a quick meal for  
herself. She knew Goliath's patrol wouldn't take too much longer. She finished  
eating her meal, washed the dish and went over to her living room where she turned  
on the television and put the volume at the lower levels to prevent Adam from waking  
up.

She flipped through the channels for a few minutes before she heard a tapping at the  
sliding door to the balcony. She looked up and smiled. Goliath.

She stepped aside and let her love enter the apartment. He was unusually merry this  
evening. It wasn't that he had said anything to alert her to his mood, but there was  
something in his step that made her wonder about the source of his joy. As they  
walked over to the couch and sat down, she had to ask.

"Goliath, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why are you so happy?"

"Angela and Broadway will be mating tomorrow evening." He said with an understated  
smile. Elisa was a bit confused.

"Mating? Like they are having the ceremony tomorrow? Isn't that a bit short notice?"

Goliath took her hand and kissed it, causing ripples of electricity to course  
through her.

"They wish to have a simple and traditional ceremony, with a few human customs added  
of their own choice. No further planning is required, except for telling you and the  
Labyrinth clan about it. It will take place tomorrow at sundown. The rest of the  
night is for celebrating. My daughter is grown." He beamed, full of pride.

"Wow, that's great! So, am I invited?" She asked coyly. Goliath looked into her rich  
brown eyes with love and a hint of playfulness.

"Of course you are, my love. You have always been a part of my clan. Someday…" He  
paused. Elisa looked up at him, puzzled.

"Someday…?"

Goliath, feeling taken aback, hesitated before continuing.

"Uh, someday you will truly know that, my Elisa." He pulled her towards him and  
hugged her lovingly.

"Uh-huh…" Elisa replied, unconvinced that was what he was going to say. "Well, I do  
know that, and I always will." She reached up to his face and stroked it sweetly.  
Just then, a hiccupping cry was audible from Adam's room. Elisa stopped stroking  
Goliath's face instantly, and her relaxed look changed into one of worry for her  
son. She rose from the couch and walked towards the room wordlessly, with Goliath  
following closely behind her. The cries grew louder and louder until Elisa reached  
the side of Adam's crib. She peered inside and smiled once she saw that he was only  
calling out for attention. He recognized his mother's soothing voice and delicate  
features hovering over him, and grew quiet.

"What is it, my angel boy? Hmm? You jealous of Goliath here?" She turned to see  
Goliath smiling at the scene. She turned back to her son, and bent down to pick him  
up into her arms.

"You have nothing to be jealous of, Adam. I love both of you." She laughed, rocking  
him carefully in her arms. The one month old child looked up silently at his mother  
and the gentle, smiling face behind her. Goliath touched his head slowly, smiling.

"I am relieved about that, Elisa." He answered her playfully, placing a mighty arm  
around her waist. Though Adam was too young to actually distinguish between the  
emotions, he seemed to smile just at that moment. Elisa caught this, and giggled.

"Did you see that, Big Guy? He just smiled! Didn't you, didn't you, baby?" She  
snuggled Adam towards her lovingly. She leaned back against Goliath and sighed.

"I couldn't imagine anything better than this: a night with my two favourite guys.  
I'm so lucky." She said happily. Goliath's hold on her waist tightened slightly in  
response. He stroked her hair and said, "And we are lucky to have you, my love."  
Elisa smiled at this. She glanced down at her son again and saw that he had closed  
his eyes. He was dozing off.

"Another five minutes and I'll put him back down. He probably just heard our voices  
and got restless. I'll be out in a minute." She said as Goliath loosened his hold on  
her waist. She walked over to the white rocking chair. Goliath understood and quietly  
walked into the living room to await her return.

As Goliath walked out, he heard Elisa humming a sweet melody quietly. He paused  
briefly to hear her singing to a nearly sleeping Adam. He smiled as he listened.

_

"Won't you play the music so the cradle can rock,  
to a lullaby in ragtime.  
Sleepy hands are creeping to the end of the clock,  
play a lullaby in ragtime.  
You can tell the sandman is on his way,  
by the way that they play,  
As still as the trill of a thrush in a twilight high…"

_

Elisa sang this last line and Goliath smiled and walked over to the living room. A  
moment after, Elisa was seen slowly closing the door to Adam's room. She walked over  
to Goliath and he took her hands into his own.

"I had no idea you sang, Elisa. It was beautiful."

She looked bashful.

"Um, it's something I just started doing one day when Adam was crying. It calms him  
down. I guess he likes George Gershwin just as much as his mom does."

"Who is—"

"Never mind, Goliath. So, about tomorrow, what should I wear…?"

_Meanwhile, the Destine Manor_

Angela left Castle Wyvern right after speaking with Goliath, insistent on having her  
mother at her ceremony. Broadway had given her his blessing on inviting Demona. He  
had the hope that she would refuse the offer, but he didn't dare word that hope  
aloud to Angela, as it would crush her. Instead, he told her to seek Demona and  
invite her to the celebration.

"Are you here, Mother?" Angela called as she landed upon the large platform of the  
balcony. She walked towards the door and saw that there were no lights on inside.  
"I wonder where she could be." Angela pondered aloud. Inspecting the serene balcony  
and estate, Angela decided to call Dominique's personal assistant, Stacey and ask  
where her mother was. She would call her and say she was a close personal friend of  
Dominique's. Determined to find out where her mother was, she spread her wings,  
caught an updraft and glided towards the castle to use the phone.

"Ms. Destine is on a working vacation in Paris, and will be away for an undetermined  
amount of time. Would you like to leave her a message?"  
Angela frowned.  
"No, thank you." She said good bye and hung up the phone. Angela looked around the  
Great Hall where she was standing. She needed a piece of paper, and found one on the  
Lexington's computer desk. She began writing on the paper. After a few minutes of  
writing, she folded the paper, and walked out of the Great Hall.

She returned to the Destine manor, the note clutched firmly in her hand. Once she  
landed upon the balcony again, she walked over to the door to her mother's bedroom,  
and slipped the note under the door. She then spread her wings again and glided  
away.

_Two weeks earlier…_

Dominique Destine had been on 'working vacation' since August 2nd, but had only  
gotten down to business two weeks after her arrival in Paris. She was on the lookout  
for someone from her past that would be the key to eliminating Elisa Maza from the  
picture, and realising her plans to rejoin her clan. Once she was told by her  
source in Paris that her ally-turned enemy (and hopefully future ally) was still  
alive, she went to Paris at once to seek him out and convince him that helping her  
was the best option for both.

She had finally narrowed down her search for her past ally to one particular haunt  
they used to frequent. It was an old abandoned building just south of the Eiffel  
Tower, and there was a light on inside of it. That evening, as Dominique Destine  
reverted into her regular form of Demona, she glided towards the building in search  
of him. She would not be disappointed…

_August 29, 1997_

The evening of the mating ceremony came. Elisa and Adam arrived just before sundown,  
and David and Fox were preparing a very simple decorative piece when they arrived.  
Owen was supervising the progress while he kept a watchful eye on fifteen-month old  
Alexander as he ran around the hall.

"Momma!" Alexander shouted excitedly, tugging at his mother's skirt. She glanced  
down at her son and laughed, bending down and gathering him up in her arms.

"Alex, do you like what your daddy and me are setting up here? It's an arch. It has  
flowers all over, see, sweetie?" She pointed at the various coloured flowers. David  
exhaled as he finished moving the arch where the gargoyles had said they wanted it  
to be.

"It looks good, but didn't they just want things to be simple?" Just as he asked  
this, Elisa came walking in, holding one month old Adam.

"They wanted to add some human touches to their special day. Besides, it's still  
simple. It's just prettier." She mused as she straightened out her light summer  
dress. It was a yellow and white floral pattern that Elisa was still not used to,  
but knew that she looked incredible in nonetheless. She had already lost some of the  
weight that she had gained with her pregnancy, but there was a bit left around her  
midsection that she felt would have to be exercised off in time. This  
spaghetti-strapped dress showed off this slightly more voluptuous figure she had  
recently attained, and Elisa loved the feeling of the silky material upon her skin.  
Also, it matched with another recent favourite in her wardrobe: a white button down  
sweater. She wore the ensemble as if she was accustomed to wearing dresses all the  
time—with a confidence and grace she wasn't even sure she possessed when it came to  
fashion.

Alex, still in Fox's arms, pointed at Adam.

"Baby." He stated. Fox nodded.

"Yea, it's a baby. His name is Adam. A..dam." She enunciated, trying to get Alex to  
attempt to say the name.

"Dum," was Alex's reply. Elisa smiled. "Close enough, Alex. Now, we're just waiting  
for Derek and the others to get here…"

"Someone say my name?" Talon came in, followed by Maggie, Claw, and the clones,  
including Delilah. He smiled when he saw his nephew in Elisa's arms, although the  
child did anything but smile. Adam caught a glance of his uncle, and immediately  
began screaming in terror. Elisa began rocking Adam back and forth with  
determination to stop his crying.

"Adam! What is the matter with you! That's Uncle Derek!" Talon took a few steps  
backwards away from mother and child in order to leave Adam's view, and gave Elisa  
an apologetic look.

"Elisa, he does that every time he sees me. He doesn't understand that I'm his  
uncle. Just leave him." He said as he walked towards Maggie.

"Derek, he will come around to us in time." Maggie said optimistically, stroking his  
hand in her own. Talon scoffed, though he welcomed the kind gesture from his  
girlfriend.

"Doubtful. He already seems to get along fine with the other gargoyles, but with me,  
he's terrified." Elisa was still having a difficult time relaxing Adam. His scared  
cries echoed in the Great Hall, even though she cradled him against her shoulder.

"Maybe the fresh air will calm him down." She stated, motioning with her head that  
she was going to take Adam outside. She walked out of the Great Hall with the  
others looking on. Fox, still holding onto Alexander, chose her words carefully. She  
looked over at Talon, Maggie and the still silent Mutates and said, "Children are  
inconsistent. Don't worry." Talon frowned and turned his attention to the impending  
sunset, which was happening momentarily.

_Destine Manor_

Demona had just arrived at her estate for the first time in over a month. Being  
overseas for so long, she had to stop by her office to see if there was any pressing  
business she needed to attend to before going home. Good thing her jet landed an hour  
before sunset. That had given her just enough time to check her messages at the  
office and change back into Demona without any unusual questions being asked. The  
transformation took place in her office, which she had had the insight to soundproof  
when the building was under construction. Once back to her gargoyle form, she took  
flight and within a few minutes, she spotted her estate.

She landed upon the balcony to her bedroom, chanted a few words in Latin, and the  
doors to her bedroom swung open. She had used a magic spell on the doors to her home  
so that no one could open them but her, even with the key. Demona smiled at her own  
resourcefulness and was about to step inside when her eyes caught a glimpse of a  
piece of lined paper on the floor. On it was written, 'Mother', and it was dated  
August 28. It was from Angela. She bent down and took the paper in her hand.

Mother,  
I know this comes with short notice, but Broadway and I have decided to have our  
Mating ceremony tomorrow night at the castle. We couldn't wait any longer. It would  
have been wonderful if you were there, but since you're overseas for an undetermined  
amount of time, as your personal assistant said, I think it's best if we go ahead  
with our plans.  
Love, Angela.

Demona frowned. _"Mental note: Fire Stacey."_ She said coldly. She was about  
to crumple up the letter when she thought better of it and paused to think about  
what she was going to do next. Was she going to go to that castle, and watch her  
daughter become another gargoyle's mate, or was she going to stay away… Demona paced  
a few steps back and forth, letting this question sink into her head. What were the  
pros and cons of her decision? If she were to go, Angela would be pleasantly  
surprised, Goliath would see that she was trying to make an effort to reach out to  
her daughter, and the clan wouldn't feel as antsy around her as they normally do. On  
the other hand, if she were to go, it would mean that she would be amongst those who  
have tried to destroy her in the past as well as those who she has tried to destroy  
in the past, especially Elisa Maza. There was no doubt in Demona's mind that Elisa  
and her bastard child would be there, too. Still, this was a perfect opportunity to  
show Goliath that she was trying to change her ways and reform herself. This would  
actually prove to be a good idea in her grand scheme of things…

Outside the Great Hall, Elisa carried Adam towards the still statues of their  
protectors. The sun crept lower and lower upon the horizon, and Elisa was hoping  
that seeing them would quiet the child. She held Adam to her shoulder, as if she  
were burping him. As she stepped slowly closer to the edge of the castle where the  
gargoyles were in stone sleep, she hummed serenely to Adam. Her sweet melodic voice  
was having the desired effect on the child. He had stopped crying, and now was  
tugging gently at Elisa's hair.

"Hey, baby, don't do that," She said, pulling the strand of hair out of his tiny  
hand and kissing the hand after and adjusting her sweater around her shoulders.

The sun finally set. Elisa held Adam in her arms and covered his ears lightly to  
prevent another terror attack from the screams as the gargoyles awoke from their  
sleep. One by one, they broke free from their stone-induced slumber, sending chards  
of stone skin flying all over. Elisa stepped back a few feet to ensure none would  
reach Adam. Lexington was the first to step down from the ledge.

"Hi Elisa! Hi Adam!" He said, giving the baby his pinkie talon to grasp. Adam did  
just that, and it was a tight hold. Lexington pulled his talon out of the child's  
grasp with a bit of difficulty, then smiled and walked into the Great Hall.  
Brooklyn, Hudson and Bronx were next to walk towards Elisa.

"Hey, how's my godson?" Brooklyn asked as he approached Elisa.

"He's being a bit fussy, but it seems to be passing now. Slept well?"

Brooklyn's face instantly saddened as he was brought back to the reason why Elisa  
and Adam were there to begin with. "Uh, yeah, sure. I was really looking forward to  
tonight…" He said almost sarcastically. Hudson came from behind him, placed a  
fatherly hand upon his shoulder, and said, "Chin up, lad. As they say, there are  
plenty a fish in tha sea. Besides, this is a joyous occasion." He smiled, then  
released Brooklyn's shoulder to touch Adam's hand. He smiled at Elisa.

"Lass, how are ye?"

She smiled. Someone was actually asking about her for a change. Lately it was all  
about her son, not that that was a bad thing…

"I'm alright. Thanks for asking, Hudson." She beamed. He nodded and followed  
Brooklyn and Lexington inside. Bronx rubbed up against Elisa's leg in greeting and  
followed as well.

"Wow, if I'd have known any better, I'd think he was a larger version of Cagney just  
now…" She mused aloud. A ways off, she could see that Broadway, Angela and Goliath  
were walking slowly together, talking. When they caught sight of Elisa and the baby,  
their pace was sped up and their smiles widened.

"Hello Elisa!" Angela exclaimed. Her happiness was apparent to anyone who saw her.  
Her skin seemed to glow. Elisa loved seeing her like this. If Broadway could make  
her this happy, he must be the right gargoyle for her.

"Hi Angela, hi Broadway." She then looked up at the lavender gargoyle that made her  
happier than Angela was at this very moment. "Hi, Big Guy." She breathed, smiling  
sweetly.

"My love, thank you for coming to share this night with us." Goliath replied,  
sending her a smile that would melt the coldest heart, and dispel any bad day Elisa  
would ever have by far just by the sight of it. He placed a tender hand upon her  
cheek briefly and then touched Adam's head. He looked down at the child and said,  
"Hello, Adam. I hope you have been a good boy for your mother." Angela and Broadway  
laughed, while Elisa rocked Adam slowly. He reached out and grabbed one of Goliath's  
talons as he had with Lexington, and held on tightly. Goliath smiled, then looked  
back into the eyes of his beloved.

"Elisa, I could swear that his appearance has changed since the last time I saw him.  
He looks more like you everyday." He said, brushing a stray hair from her face.

"Really? I can't even tell, since I see him everyday. He just seems to be growing  
bigger to me." She laughed. "But I guess that's a really good thing." Elisa added,  
causing her mind to wander back to Tony Dracon and how some of his features were  
sure to come out in Adam's appearance eventually. She frowned at the thought, but  
Goliath was attentive enough to understand where her train of thought was taking  
her.

"He is your son, no matter what. Remember that, my love." He said reassuringly. It  
worked, and Elisa nodded.

"You're right, regardless of who my son looks like; I will love him until the day I  
die. No matter what." She said determinedly. As she finished her sentence, Hudson  
came walking towards them.

"Would ye like to get started now? The Labyrinth Clan is here, and Xanatos and Fox  
are ready."

Angela and Broadway looked at each other and grinned. "Yes, I mean if everything is  
ready, that is…"

"Alright, then, lass, let us go inside and make you two mates!" Hudson beamed,  
putting his hands on both gargoyles' shoulders as he walked between them, leaving  
Elisa, Goliath and Adam in the courtyard. Angela turned around to her father before  
being led inside.

"Goliath, do you remember what Broadway and I told you to say?"

"Yes, Angela. I remember." He laughed in his own regal way, and watched as Angela  
nodded, and allowed herself to be led inside to the Great Hall.

"What was that, Big Guy?" Elisa asked curiously.

"Something about a human custom. You'll see in a moment." He smiled, and then took  
her hand in his. "Shall we go in, my darling?" He asked, dropping his head to  
Elisa's level. He brought his lips to hers, causing a sigh to escape her lips after  
they parted.

"Mmmhmmm…" She replied, slightly flustered from the romantic gesture.

The Great Hall was decorated with white flowers. The arch that David and Fox had set  
up was situated in the middle of the Great Hall, as the tradition went with all the  
human weddings that they had heard of and/or witnessed in the past. Normally,  
gargoyle mating ceremonies occurred outside, but since the castle was theirs, they  
would make their own traditions now. There were no seats for the guests to sit upon  
and watch the ceremony, as they, too, were a part of it. Hudson directed them all to stand in a  
large circle around the arch, even the Mutates and the Xanatoses.

Outside in the Courtyard, a gargoyle landed upon the stone ledge quietly. She  
stepped down from the ledge and walked towards the Great Hall, where she was sure  
the ceremony was being held. She hoped that she was not too late to witness it.

The small congregation of family and friends formed a large circle around the couple  
and Hudson. Most faces were graced with smiles. Brooklyn, on the other hand, was  
trying to keep his angst inside without success. Lexington made sure to stand beside  
him to watch for any sign that he needed help calming down or cheering up.

Hudson cleared his throat and began.

"Everyone, thank ye all fer being with us tonight. We are here to call attention  
upon love between two clan members, and to have this love recognised by the clan.  
First, I ask…uh…who gives this gargoyle, Angela, away to be mated?" Hudson asked,  
struggling to remember the wording that Angela and Broadway had told him. Goliath  
stepped forward into the circle.

"Her father does." He smiled, looking at the happy couple and Hudson. Angela nodded  
as Goliath had gotten it right.

A voice came from the doorway of the Great Hall.

_"And her mother does as well." _

Demona entered the Hall with a joyous grin. The silence of the gargoyles and people  
in the Great Hall gave way to a collective noise of surprise, and even outrage. The  
latter was quelled by others as they saw how Demona's presence was making Angela so  
happy.

"Mother! You came! I thought you were in Paris!" She said as Demona entered the  
circle and hugged Angela.

"I returned this morning and saw your note. Thank you for inviting me, Angela." She  
smiled genuinely. Angela beamed and took her place again under the arch and holding  
Broadway's hand. Demona walked over to where Goliath was standing, nodded to him and  
watched the scene. Elisa, who was standing on Goliath's other side, looked over at  
Demona. She seemed almost self-satisfied. Elisa found that strange, but then it was  
strange that she would even be there at all. She also felt a pang of jealousy rise  
inside of her, though she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Goliath loved her and  
no one else.

Hudson cleared his throat again, and said, "Well, uh, wonderful. Now, we can begin  
the ceremony. Broadway, will ye read what ye wanted te say?" Broadway unfolded a  
small piece of paper he had in his hand and looked at it, then put it away.

"Angela, someone once said that a loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge. I  
know this is true because I know that I know nothing without you." He smiled and  
kissed her hand. "Oh Broadway." She sighed. "Broadway, you are everything I ever  
wanted in a mate, and I am eternally grateful that Father and Elisa came to Avalon."  
Demona cringed upon hearing this, though she did not dare to look in their direction.  
"My life began when I began loving you." She added. Hudson nodded.

"As members of this clan, do any of ye object ta this union?" He said, purposely  
looking in Brooklyn's direction. He said nothing, and did nothing except stare at  
the floor.  
"In that case, it is my pleasure t'announce that Angela and Broadway are mated in  
the eyes of the clan!" A series of hurrahs resounded from the circle of friends and  
clan members as the happy couple embraced each other and wrapped themselves in their  
wings. Alexander began yelling, "Yay, Angie! Yay Bro!" while in his mother's arms.  
Adam only watched the scene with blank curiosity. Owen Burnett suddenly appeared  
seemingly out of nowhere.

"The food is ready, sir." He said to David, then turned and walked away.

"Xanatos, we didn't want you to go to any trouble…"Goliath commented.

He raised a hand in protest.

"It was certainly no trouble at all. It isn't everyday that I am invited to a mating  
ceremony. Please, consider it a small wedding present. It will be up shortly."

With that, the circle disbanded and small groups formed in different parts of the  
Great Hall. In one corner, Fox, Lexington, Maggie and two of the mutates were  
talking. In  
Another, David, Brooklyn and Hudson were chatting. Closer to the door, Demona stood  
with her daughter.

"How was your trip? Fruitful?" Angela asked Demona curiously. Demona smiled.

"You can say that. But that's enough about me, daughter. Tell me how you are  
feeling."

Angela beamed again, as she had been doing from the moment she awoke that evening.

"I feel that I am gliding infinitely. We are both so excited."

"That's how your father and I felt when…" Demona stopped, watching Angela's  
reaction. As she didn't look very disheartened, she continued. "…when we were mated.  
It is a joyous feeling that lasts as long as you want it to." She looked at her  
daughter proudly. They spoke briefly and then Broadway whisked her away to talk to  
the other guests. Demona stood against the wall watching her enemies, and her family  
mingling. She was happy that she had super hearing, because it might come in handy in  
just such an occasion.

In another area of the room, Elisa, Goliath and Talon were standing near the  
fireplace. Adam had not seen Talon yet, and Elisa wished for it to stay this way.

"Goliath, can you hold him while I talk with Derek for a few minutes? He is scared  
of him, and I don't want him to cry like that again tonight. He might not fall  
asleep after that." Goliath nodded and allowed Adam to be placed in his arms. The  
child did not raise any objection to being in Goliath's strong and protective arms.  
In fact, he looked almost as comfortable in his arms as he did in Elisa's.

Once they were away from Adam and Goliath, Elisa put an understanding hand on her  
brother's shoulder.

"Derek, I'm sorry about Adam's behaviour before. I don't understand why he reacts  
like that to you."

Derek shook his head.

"I know why. It's because I'm like _this_ If I weren't like this, my nephew  
would be fine around me, and I would be free to marry Maggie and we could have  
children of our own."

Elisa sent him a sympathetic look.

"Xanatos is still trying to work on the cure. I know that he isn't 100 trustworthy,  
but he is making the effort. He saved my life and he helped to save my son's life.  
Don't give up hope that a cure will be found, Derek."

Derek exhaled loudly. "Alright."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart,"

"And hope to die," Elisa replied, finishing off their usual promise to each other.

Demona noted this in her memory, and turned to see another scene.

Goliath began walking towards the different tapestries and artefacts upon the walls  
and explaining them to Adam.

"This rug is from when I was a small lad, back in 979. It was given to the king of  
the castle at the time in a sign of friendship by the English. That did not last  
very long, as I am told," Goliath said, pointing to a large rug that hung across  
four feet of wall surface. He walked over to another hanging piece. "And this one is  
from a time when Princess Katharine's ancestor, King Douglas the first was king…"  
Goliath continued. Demona noticed and narrowed her eyes at the sight. He was being  
fatherly to that whore's child. She silently decided that her plan should be put  
into place sooner rather than later, or else her chance to regain what was stolen  
from her would slip by forever.

After another ten minutes of walking with Adam in his arms, Elisa came back to  
Goliath. She looked at the child in his arms, and smiled.

"Thank you for holding him, love. I can take him if you want."

"That's alright, Elisa. He seems to like being with me."

She giggled. "So do I, Big Guy. So do I." She said, allowing Goliath to put one  
caring arm around her shoulder. She wrapped her right arm around his waist and held  
on tightly.

"I love you so much, Goliath." She said adoringly. He looked down to her smiling  
face.

"I know, Elisa. And I love you." He said, tightening his gentle grasp on her  
shoulder, pulling her as close to him as possible without hurting her.

Demona couldn't take this anymore. Feast or no feast, she had to leave this place  
now. She watched her daughter's smiling face for a few more seconds, then, realising  
that she was too busy to notice that she was gone, walked out of the room and spread  
her wings to catch a current of wind and take off.

Back at the Destine manor, Demona sat in one of her favourite chairs on her balcony  
and thought about her plans to destroy Elisa and have Goliath for herself once  
again. She was nearly in agony when she was reminded of those words that he and the  
human shared that were supposed to be heard only by them. She felt complete torture  
when she thought of Goliath returning Elisa's feelings, but she convinced herself  
that they would pass and his love for Demona would return stronger than ever in  
time.


	3. Chapter 3: Transformation

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. Please don't sue me. Pretty Please?_** **_Also, please R&R! _**

SEASON 2: **_3—Transformation_**

_September 1, 1997_

Nightstone Unlimited received a fairly large package in the early stages of the business day. The 8 foot tall wooden crate was delivered by courier to the attention of Dominique Destine from Paris, France. Four of Dominique's larger employees wheeled the crate into the loading dock until Ms. Destine told them what to do with the crate. She was on the phone when they delivered the crate.

"Yes, I understand. I will be available later on in the evening to help with this matter. Thank you. See you later on then. Good bye." Dominique hung the phone up and looked up from her desk.

"Ms. Destine, where would you like this crate?" The delivery man asked politely, obviously unaware of her reputation of being a complete bitch to her employees.

"Ask my secretary for directions to my estate. Leave the crate in the garden with a crowbar. You will be paid tomorrow." The delivery man nodded and left. Demona smiled her signature evil smile. Everything is falling into place. Once she advised them to prepare the crate for delivery to the Destine estate, they did as she commanded, securing a large truck to deliver the package there post haste.

At the end of the workday, two o'clock for Dominique, she returned home so that she may inspect the delivery carefully. She found the crate in the garden area of her property. A crowbar was resting upon the top of the crate to aid in the seemingly delicate woman in opening the excessively large package. Dominique pried the crate open, not using the crow bar, but using her bare hands. When the last sides of the wooden crate finally fell to the floor, she chuckled to herself and examined the package.

Dominique finished some paper work for Nightstone Unlimited until the sun set. When she viewed the sun lowering upon the horizon, her transformation began painfully, as it did every night. Her insides burned just as hurtfully as they did the night before, and the night before that. She doubled over in pain, moaning loudly. Simultaneously, another being was awakening from stone slumber.

**_Paris, August 16th after sunset…_**

Demona glided towards the abandoned building she was sure to find him in. As she neared the building, she saw movement within, and her hopes soared. He's really in there, she thought. My plans are finally going right! She landed on the roof of the decrepit building and draped her wings over her shoulders.

"Hello," She called out loudly. A rustling noise could be heard from somewhere inside the building. She stepped further.

"Is someone there?" She called out again. This time, she was greeted by laser fire that shattered the peaceful silence in the building and caused a few startled chirps from pigeons perching above and within. Demona ducked the fire, and pulled out her own laser weapon. She was ready for just such a development. She had a feeling she would be met with hostility.

"Stop!" She called out, sending a few shots in the direction of the opposing blasts. "I want to talk. I have a proposition for you! Stop shooting at me and come out!" More laser fire aimed at her came shooting out from one of the walls. She almost didn't duck in time. The laser fire singed her tail slightly.

"Why should I!" A familiar voice bellowed out from the direction of the firing.

"Because I can get you what you want. We have similar interests, and together, we can both meet our goals." The laser fire stopped. More rustling could be heard, only this time, an old door opened and a familiar clone walked out, still holding his laser weapon ready to fire at any instant. Demona smiled.

"Why, hello, there, Thailog. Long time no see." His bright red eyes narrowed.

"Demona, my ex-love. What brings you to Paris?" He said, his voice full of sarcasm.

"As I said, I have a proposition for you." Thailog scoffed.

"Your propositions are usually self-centered and unsuccessful. What makes this one so appealing to me? And choose your words carefully—your sales pitch will mean the difference between you gliding out of here or falling." He said cruelly. Demona smiled again, confident in her 'sales pitch'.

"What's the one thing you want more than anything?" She asked, stepping closer to him.

"To cause my fathers pain, especially Goliath." That was the answer Demona was expecting. Her smile widened greatly.

"I know how to do that. And in the process, I would rid myself of more than one nuisance. It's a win-win situation if you ask me."

"I'm not asking you, Demona." He replied coldly, his laser weapon still aimed at Demona's head. "Why do you want me to help you, though? Can't seem to do such an easy task by yourself?"

"I am a busy woman, Thailog. And I have other things under my supervision at the moment. What I need done requires skill and precision—you have both—and you will pull this task off without a hitch. I just know it." She stepped closer still. "So, what do you say? Can I count on you to help me in my plans?"

Thailog thought long and hard. Silently, and with the gun still pointed at Demona, Thailog thought about the pros and cons of helping Demona in whatever plan she had. Even if her plan didn't actually enable him to kill Goliath, usually her plans were fun. He lowered his weapon and dropped it to the floor as Demona did the same with hers. He took her hand in his and shook it. A deal with the devil was made.

"Agreed."

**_B_****_ack to September 1, 1997, Destine Manor, 7:50pm_**

Demona straightened up from her excruciating transformation and turned around to see her guest.

"Ah, Thailog, you are awake." She said calmly to her guest. He grinned sinisterly.

"Indeed, but I thought you would not need my assistance for some time."

"The plan has changed. I want to begin our partnership as soon as physically possible."

Thailog didn't seem impressed with her haste. "Why the rush, Demona? All good plans must be well thought out, after all." He said, placing a hand upon his waist.

"I **_have_** thought long and hard about this plan, my co-conspirator."

"And what is that plan, then?" Thailog retorted. Demona smiled half-heartedly at the gargoyle's question.

"The best way to do cause Goliath pain is to destroy his precious detective Maza. Once we do that, Goliath will suffer immensely. He and the rest of that pathetic clan of his will be rendered too emotionally weak to successfully defend themselves against us. I will finally be rid of my enemies, and you will have taken your revenge upon your good-for-nothing father. Well, at least one of them…" Thailog smiled a sickening smile that would have caused Demona to vomit, had she not needed his help in her plans.

"Hmmm…interesting approach. When do we begin?"

"First, we need to do a few things to trick them into thinking that I am on their side. This way, they won't suspect a thing when the plan is finally set in motion." Thailog liked the idea of deception, especially when it came to his father. He knew Goliath was ruled by emotions and ethics—things that were of no interest to Thailog whatsoever.

"Well, what should I do, in the meantime?" Demona whipped out a piece of paper. "I'm sure you still remember your way around New York." She handed the paper to him. "This is Elisa Maza's address. Make sure to keep out of sight. We cannot risk your being seen just yet. It will seem too suspicious."

"So what am I to do then?" Thailog asked angrily.

"Follow her, watch her, study her routine. She is on maternity leave now so…"

"What! She had a child! With whom?" Thailog demanded.

"I haven't gotten the full details, but the speculation is that when Tony Dracon kidnapped her nearly a year ago, he raped her. Serves her right, the whore…" Demona snarled with her eyes aflame. Thailog stroked his chin in contemplation.

"Hmmm…" Demona checked her rage quickly and turned to see a clock hanging upon the wall.

"Blast, I must be off. I have an appointment with someone. Again, remember, keep out of sight. If you are spotted, lose them, and return here immediately. The only clan member that knows the location of my estate is my daughter, Angela."

Without waiting for his reply, she unfurled her wings, opened the balcony door and took off, leaving Thailog to roam about the estate, much to his pleasure.

Demona glided through the air, still deep in thought. Her plan was going to work, she thought. As long as she didn't tell Thailog everything, it would work. If she were to tell Thailog that she wished her hands to remain clean of Elisa Maza's blood to protect her image to Goliath, Thailog might decide against helping her after all, and might even turn on her. Goliath must believe that she had nothing to do with Maza's murder in order for her plan to be a complete success. Thailog was there in actuality to do the dirty work and take the blame—something he wanted anyways. She was confident that it would work. For now, she was off to see the first part of her plan had begun.

**_The Eyrie Building, 8:05pm_**

Owen Burnett knocked upon David Xanatos' office door.

"Sir? I have an update on Operation Set Right from our laboratory."

David looked up from his computer to see Owen's blank face. He could never tell whether news from Owen was good or bad based on his facial expression—he hated that about him, but at least he was consistent.

"And?" Owen walked closer to David's desk.

"It appears we need a sorceress to perform the last bit of work."

"I'm not following you, Owen. Why is that?"

"Sir, the transformations were extensive. They require more than just mere science to rectify. This is the precise reason that the results have taken so long to be analysed in the first place."

"And you can't do anything in the form of Puck?" David asked. Owen shook his head.

"No, sir. Even as Puck, my range is limited, and what's more, there would be no logical reason to teach Alexander how to do this type of incantation." David scratched his beard with one finger.

"Well, I guess in that case, we need to find a sorceress, Owen."

"I already have that covered, sir."

"Oh?" David asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I received an interesting phone call this morning, and it seems to be completely legitimate."

"Well, that's wonderful news. We should definitely contact Talon and the others and take care of this as soon as possible, then. What do you think, Owen?"

"Tonight if possible. She only had tonight available."

**_The Labyrinth, 9:10pm_**

Talon was seated at the 'kitchen table' in the Labyrinth eating his dinner with Maggie and Claw, as well as the clones. They ate noisily and talked in between like a regular family. Maggie served a few scoops of rice to Delilah and Brentwood. After Talon finished eating, he rose silently and walked away from the 'kitchen', obviously disturbed. Maggie noticed his move and caught up with him in the hallway. She was behind him when she began speaking.

"Derek, what is the matter? You didn't say a word at dinner." Maggie asked, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Maggie, I'm sorry. I'm just thinking about the night Broadway and Angela were mated and how my nephew reacted to me. Elisa told me not to give up hope about finding a cure, but…"

"Derek, we are happy, aren't we?" Maggie asked. Talon turned around, and held her hands in his.

"We are, but we could be happier…"

"Aren't we doing good work down here, caring for the Mutates and those lost souls who have no where else to go?"

"Yes, but Maggie, I love you, and I want you to be my wife and live our lives, like normal people do…"

"And what is 'normal' anymore, Derek? Normal for me is being with you, regardless of the way we look. I don't care about that anymore, although I do admit that it would make life much easier if we were changed back to being human." Maggie stared at the floor.

Talon tipped her chin to look at him. "Maggie, I love you, and will be happy with you no matter what, but I want to have a regular life—the life I dreamed I would have."

"If that's what you want, then, Derek, I will go with it. I love you." He hugged her dearly.

"I love you too, Maggie. Thanks. Now, let's go back to the Mutates…" Just then, a familiar voice was heard from the entrance of the Labyrinth. It was David Xanatos himself. Talon was in disbelief, and Maggie's jaw dropped.

"What are you doing here?" Talon asked blankly. David put a hand up in truce.

"I'm here with good news. Actually, it's fantastic news."

"What do you mean?" Maggie asked, still holding Talon's hand.

"We've found a cure for you and the others."

"What!" Maggie and Talon both exclaimed.

"Owen confirmed it! I'm just ecstatic! The research has finally paid off!" David cried happily. Talon looked hopefully at Maggie.

"Can it really be?" He asked joyfully.

"Come to the Eyrie Building, all of you, even the clones. Tonight. You'll all be human again by this time tomorrow."

Talon took a few deep breaths, contemplated for a split second, and then looked at Maggie again.

"Assemble the clones, and get Claw and Fang. We'll go to the Eyrie as soon as they are ready."

**_1_****_1:03pm, The Eyrie Building, Laboratory, lower level_**

Once all the clan was assembled, including Goliath and his clan, Owen began explaining the procedure.

"This serum," He held up a small vial. "…is the first step. This will…" Before he could finish his sentence, Elisa came bounding into the room, obviously out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," She said apologetically. "I had to drop Adam off at my parents' house. Can you repeat that, Owen?" Looking annoyed slightly, Owen began again.

"Certainly, detective. As I was saying, this vial is the first step to the transformation. The first phase will take approximately 2 hours to finalise. You will be completely unconscious during this time while your body undergoes these changes. This is done so that you do not feel any pain while this change occurs."

Elisa was not convinced. "That's only the first phase. What about the second phase?"

"That's where I come in, detective." Demona remarked from the doorway. A few gasps could be heard.

"What are you doing here, Demona?" Goliath asked, nearly angry at her intrusion.

"I'm Phase two, Goliath. It seems that the transformation requires both science and sorcery. Since there were none available to perform the appropriate spell, I volunteered. I hope that is alright with you, Goliath." She said genuinely.

"I suppose if you are the second phase of the transformation…"

"If I may continue explaining the procedure…" Owen began again, clearing his throat. "As Demona already mentioned, she must perform a spell to complete the transformation. This phase will last approximately an hour. Again, you will be completely unconscious during this phase. By lunch time, tomorrow afternoon, you should all be human once more."

Talon looked at Maggie. "What do you think, Maggie? Do we risk it?"

She smiled. "Yes, Derek. Let's do it."

"Alright!" Fang exclaimed, the fur on his arms rising in excitement. "Fun is fun, but I was getting tired of being like this…I want my life back! Let's go!" The others scowled at him.

"Let us go, then." Owen said, motioning towards a series of hospital-like beds, and asked them to lie down. As Talon lay down upon his bed, Elisa walked over to him, kissed his forehead and said, "We'll all be here when you wake up, Derek."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart…"

"And hope to…" Derek stopped, until Maggie reached and grabbed his hand.

"Everything will be fine, Derek." She said, squeezing his hand.

When the four of them were on their respective beds, Owen began administering the serum to them individually. This caused each of them to fall unconscious. Elisa watched worriedly as her little brother became unconscious. Goliath held onto Elisa lovingly, and comfortingly.

"He'll be alright, love. Have faith."

Elisa frowned.

**_1:15am_**

Two hours passed. The four subjects had shed nearly all of their fur, and their wings had receded almost completely. Their faces were still feline in nature, but the most noticeable parts of their anatomy were gone.

Now, phase two was to begin. Demona stayed and watched the progress of the four subjects while they were in phase one. Every so often, she would try to recite the spell, to make sure she wouldn't mess it up when the time came. Goliath noticed this and approached her.

"Demona, why are you doing this? What's in it for you?"

"I want to help, that's all. There is no law against someone trying to help another, is there?" She asked. Goliath was taken aback by her reply and the ferocity of her passion as she said her words. At a loss for a comeback, he looked over at Talon and Maggie silently until Elisa came up from behind him and took his hand. _Perhaps she has reformed…?_

"Goliath, I just called my mom. Adam is just sleeping, and…" She stopped, feeling Demona's usually hateful eyes on her. She turned to look at Demona, and return the glare.

"Why are you here, seriously, Demona? Got tired of plotting against me, so you're plotting against my brother?" Elisa spat out. Demona shook her head.

"Detective, I'm trying to mend my ways. This is my penance."

Elisa jeered. "Yea, right. I really believe that. If my brother is hurt by your spell, you won't be able to get far enough to save yourself from me, Demona." Goliath turned to Elisa and stepped in between the two females.

"Stop this, please. Demona is here to help him. I honestly believe that. She went out of her way to be here."

"She's gone out of her way when it came to her own intentions before." Elisa said more loudly, her eyes burning with jealousy and anger. Just then, Owen called out to Demona, summoning her to begin Phase Two. She was thankful for the departure, and walked over to the four subjects. Elisa was still fuming from Goliath's denial of Elisa's anger and jealousy when Demona began chanting in an other-worldly voice.

_"Incantatum, Morbium Lataeum, pellis nasciuum, palpitatuum pilae junctum…"_

Over and over again, she chanted this verse for nearly ten minutes. A white smoke suddenly swirled around the four subjects, and stayed there until the full hour was up.

By 2:30am, the smoke had literally settled, and all animalistic features had disappeared on Elisa's little brother's appearance. Talon no longer, Derek awoke to see the smiling face of his sister hovering over him happily.

"Derek! How do you feel?" He searched himself to find the appropriate word. Finally, he found it.

"Like shit. But I don't feel any fur!" He sat up to see the smiling faces of the others. Maggie was just rising when she saw Derek's face. "Derek! You are alright! We all are! This is a miracle!" She jumped up and got out of bed so that she may hug her boyfriend. She had tears in her eyes, as did he. Elisa decided to let them have their moments, so she walked out of the room, and rejoined Goliath and Demona outside the room. They were watching this scene, and smiled at it.

"Well, Demona, it looks like you got very lucky." Elisa said, not trying to hide her bitterness. Despite her happiness and joy that she now had her brother back, she couldn't help feeling annoyed that Demona actually had a hand in Derek and Maggie's transformation.

"You're welcome, detective." Demona replied evasively. "I must go now."

"Thank you, again, Demona." Goliath said. She smiled, bowed lightly and left.

Demona soared through the air, feeling smug and full of herself.

_My plan worked PERFECTLY, she thought. Step one is complete. Goliath was grateful. Who cares how Maza felt, because soon, she will be gone from the picture and Goliath and I will be free to be together once again. _She glided towards her estate to plan out step two with Thailog.

What did you think? Let me know!


	4. Chapter 4: First Passions

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. Please don't sue me. Pretty Please?_**

Synopsis: Elisa visits Derek and Maggies new home and asks a favour of her parents. Goliath and Elisa share a wonderful and passionate night together for the first time, and Thailog and Demona decide to scope out Elisa's apartment and end up seeing something they didn't want to see...

**_SEASON 2:  
4—First Passions_**

**_September 5, 1997, 11:37am_**

Elisa woke up that morning with the largest smile sweeping across her face. Her brother had been cured, and returned to normal, her parents had been told, and all seemed well in the Maza family. What was special about this morning was that she and the other Mazas were planning to help Derek and Maggie move into a large home outside of New York City in which the clones could also live. This home was courtesy of David Xanatos, though Peter Maza would never agree to it. He snickered constantly about how Xanatos gifts usually came with a heavy price. Elisa, being the latest in the converted Xanatos supporters, (as much as she could be that is…) calmed her dad down and said that if he really wanted to, he could pay Xanatos back for the home. This pacified him for the time being, though Elisa knew it wouldn't take much to cause Peter Maza to restart his Xanatos-bashing.

Elisa began her routine for the morning; she set up Adam's formula, made a quick breakfast for herself, and put Adam in the most adorable pair of jeans and golf shirt, with matching running shoes. She gave him his morning bottle, and then placed him securely in his carrier and left the apartment with him to go to Derek's new home.

She drove for nearly 45 minutes until she finally reached the acre of land that the home for Derek, Maggie and the mutates would soon be inhabiting was situated. As the Ford Fairlane rolled along the paved road towards the large red brick house, Elisa gasped. The house was three floors, with a large balcony extending around the entire perimeter with grand white columns supporting the balcony at intervals below. It almost reminded Elisa of the house Forest Gump lived in as a boy in the movie of the same name. The roof was black in colour, and stood out nicely from the colour of the red brick the home was made of. As the car got closer and closer, Elisa saw that there were two vehicles parked outside the front doors. One of the cars belonged to her parents, and the other was a U-Haul van. Elisa brought the Fairlane to a stop behind her parent's car, and proceeded to take Adam out of the car in his carrier.

She walked into the wide open front door, and called out. "Hello? Mom? Dad? Are you guys in here?"

She was greeted, instead, by another member of the family. Derek walked out of the kitchen, located just left of the front door. He wore a pair of well-fitted boot-leg jeans and a navy blue long sleeved v-neck sweater. His hair was still growing back on his head, but already had grown just enough to look like a fade. Elisa was still getting used to seeing the face of her brother pre-Genutech, so when he walked out, she stepped backwards slightly before realising that this wasn't a stranger or a ghost she was staring at—it was her brother, the way she remembered, and he was finally looking like he was comfortable in his own skin. While he had been a mutate, complete with fur and fangs, he never truly seemed relaxed or at ease. Now, in his jeans and sweater, and wing-free, he looked whole. Elisa smiled embarrassedly at her brother. "Uh, hi, Derek. Sorry about that…"

"It's ok, sis. I guess you're still getting over the lack of fur, huh?" He laughed, bending down to look at his sleeping nephew in his carrier as Elisa placed it down.

"He's an angel." He said, pulling the blanket closer to Adam's chin as he slept. Elisa looked down and grinned.

"Yeah, he is." She sighed and then looked around the foyer they were standing in. The first feature that caught her eye was a sprawling staircase that was situated directly in the middle of the foyer. On either side of the staircase, there were doors. The walls were still bare, as they were only moving in today, but already the home looked well-put together and comfortable. The walls were painted with a tanned colour, and the baseboards and crown moulding were a bright white colour to provide a stark contrast which worked to create that comfortable feeling. Elisa put her hands upon her hips and made an impressed whistle.

"This place is beautiful so far."

Derek looked up from the baby carrier and stood up, taking the baby carrier's handle in his hand and lifting it. "Come take a look at the rest of the place, sis. You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

After the tour of the seven bedrooms, two kitchens and large basement, Elisa, Derek, Diane, Peter and Maggie had some coffee in the main level's kitchen. It was the only room that was already completely furnished. It was complete with a large mahogany kitchen table, suitable to seat twelve, twelve large mahogany chairs, and all the major appliances.

"This place is incredible." Elisa remarked, taking a sip of her coffee and watching her sleeping month-old son in the carrier on the chair beside her.

"Yes, it is quite beautiful. You and the others are going to be so happy here." said Diane. She stirred her coffee slowly and then looked up at Maggie. As she looked up at her, she briefly thought about how cute Maggie was without the wings and feline-like face. Maggie had flowing red hair and fair skin. Her petite stature was complementary to Derek's, she thought.

"Did you call your parents yet to tell them where you are?" Diane asked Maggie. She nodded.

"Yes, though I didn't tell them where I've been the last year." She looked down at her own mug.

"Don't worry, Maggie. When you're ready, you'll tell them…or not. It's completely up to you." Derek said, smiling, and reaching for her hand across the table. Peter Maza finished his coffee and added his own thoughts to the conversation.

"And how about that guy I told you two to call. Did you call him about that job?"

"Actually, we did. Maggie starts a receptionist position on Monday!" Derek said happily. This was the next step to feeling like he was back in his own skin and life: working and paying taxes like every other American.

"That's great, Maggie!" Elisa exclaimed. She understood why Derek was so happy about something as menial as getting a job. It was the signal that they were finally normal again. It clicked in Elisa's head that the little things were more important than how much money or material wealth one had. She looked around the room. She was surrounded by her family, and was loved by so many others that weren't even sitting in this very room.

As these thoughts made Elisa silently thankful for what she had, she remembered that Goliath had told her the night before that he'd be paying her a visit this evening instead of going on patrol.

"Hey, mom, could you do me a favour?" Elisa asked impulsively across the table.

"What is it, dear?"

"Could you watch Adam tonight?"

Diane's face lightened significantly. "Definitely, Elisa! We would love to watch him for the night! Wouldn't we, Peter?"

Peter nodded happily. "We'd love to spend a little bit of time with him."

"Great. Thanks, guys."

"Is there something wrong? You've never left him before with us overnight…"

Elisa stopped her mother right there. She wasn't about to tell her that her relationship with Goliath was in need of some attention. "There's nothing wrong. I'm just beat from waking up in the middle of the night, and I think I could use one night alone in the apartment. Plus, I know you've both been bugging me about leaving him with you, so now's your chance with him." She smiled innocently. "There's no other reason."

It worked, because Diane and Peter Maza smiled.

Elisa returned home that afternoon without Adam, and inhaled deeply as she entered her apartment. Though she felt a tiny pang of guilt for enjoying being without her son, she knew that this time was desperately needed for her and Goliath. They hadn't actually had a moment alone together in over two weeks. Something always came up, or Adam had always been with them, and Elisa couldn't bring herself to part with him, even for a night. She knew her parents were more than capable of caring for Adam; they had raised three children after all. Tonight, however, she finally conceded to let her parents take care of him for more than a few hours. She had the whole night with Goliath. No matter what they did, she would be content that they were together.

At 6:57, the sun set, and Elisa knew that it was a matter of moments before Goliath would be with her. She had already taken a shower, made a meal for them, and was now dressed in a pair of black pants and a vibrant red button down shirt. It was form-fitting, and she knew she looked good in it. Her hair was allowed to flow freely behind her back, and she wore a set of gold stud earrings. She wanted to impress Goliath; she had a feeling there would be no need for that, though. He was always happy to see her, no matter what she donned.

_**8:02 pm**_

Thailog awoke that evening to see that Demona was no where to be found. He called out a few times, but only got the echo of his own voice back. Deciding that she definitely wasn't there, he went for a glide soon afterwards, making sure to keep out of sight, and staying on the higher buildings to survey the city better. After his joy glide, he returned to the estate to find Demona humming happily to herself as she sat at her desk on the main floor.

"Ah, there you are, Demona. Where have you been?" Thailog asked, nearly annoyed. She actually had not gone back to the estate as she said she would last night.  
She smiled a pleased smile. "I have been busy carrying out step one of my plan against Maza."

"Hmm…do tell."

She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms out above her head. "I have neutralised Maza's brother." Thailog was confused.

"Meaning…you have killed him?"

"No, I have made him human." Thailog's eyes burned red suddenly.

"WHY would you do something so pitifully humane as that! Didn't you tell me that the detective WANTED her brother to be returned to his original form?"

Demona didn't lose her cool. She continued calmly. "You've seen him before. In his feline form of Talon, he would have been able to help Goliath and the rest of the clan in saving the detective. Now that he's no more than a weak human, our main goal will have less interference. Do you understand?"

Internally, Demona rationalised her actions to herself…

More importantly, it makes me look good in Goliath's eyes. He believes that I did the spell out of the kindness of my heart, and not because of a scheme. Brilliant.

Thailog seemed to accept this answer, because he, too, smiled. "I see. So, what is the next step?"

"We must watch and wait until the moment is right. Did you take a look at Maza's apartment yet?"

"No, I took a glide, but forgot to check the address out for myself. I will do that now."

Demona rose from the desk chair, and waved. "I'll go with you to show you where I usually have the best view of the apartment."

Elisa walked out onto the balcony to await her prince. The temperature was cooling down, and the days were becoming shorter as they passed. This was good news for Elisa—Goliath would be awake for a longer period of time. She folded her arms across her chest since she hadn't prepared herself for the cooler temperature. There, in the distance, she saw the figure of what she thought was Goliath. She squinted to get a better look, but the figure ducked behind a building a great distance away.

"My eyes are playing tricks now." She said aloud, shaking her head. It hadn't been Goliath.

A few minutes later, Goliath finally landed upon her balcony. He cloaked his wings over his shoulders, and followed Elisa inside the apartment quickly. Once inside, he gave her a warm greeting.

"My Elisa, how are you this evening?"

"I'm even better now that you're here. I saw Derek and Maggie's house this afternoon."

"Oh? How is it?"

She smiled heartily. "It's incredible. My brother is so happy." She sighed. "Xanatos finally made good on his promise." Goliath loved the happiness that exuded from Elisa's every fibre. He placed a hand on her head and stroked her hair.

"I'm so relieved that everything turned out as it did."

She wrapped her arms around his waist with a bit of effort. "So am I, Big Guy. Everything feels right, you know? I have my brother back, he's ecstatically content, I have a happy and healthy son, and I'm in love with the best man I've ever known." She squeezed tightly. Goliath looked down, smiled, and then enfolded her within his wings.

"My love…" was all Goliath could say. She looked up at him as his wings returned to being draped over his majestic shoulders, then stood upon the tips of her toes to kiss Goliath's gentle lips. The kiss was meant to be brief, but as Goliath returned the kiss, the passion mounted within both of them. Goliath lifted Elisa to his face so that she was no longer struggling to kiss him. She wrapped her arms around his neck while his hands held her to him by the waist. She kissed him deeply, her tongue beginning to enter his mouth, and touching his fangs curiously. He returned the kiss, allowing her tongue to enter unhindered. Making sure he had a secure grasp on her waist, he used his left hand to stroke her cheek. This small action sent shocks of passion throughout her body. She let a moan of pleasure escape her lips. Goliath stopped kissing her when he heard this, and searched her rich brown eyes.

"Goliath, remember when I was pregnant, and we started kissing and we wanted to go further? I'm not pregnant anymore." She said seductively, lowering her voice just enough to drive him wild.

"What is it that you would like to do, my love?" He answered coyly. She jumped down to her feet and took his hand. She then walked over to the floor near the television set. There was a good ten feet of empty space there. She sat down upon the floor directly in front of him and then pushed him down to make him lie on the soft carpeted floor. She got on top of him, mounting him slowly. He let out a surprised cry, but was silenced by Elisa's mouth over his own. One long kiss later, she stopped and looked down at him.

"Goliath, I love you, and I've wanted you to make love to me for the longest time."

"But Elisa, I don't want to hurt you. If I ever caused you pain in any way…"

Elisa placed a finger on his lips. A pleading look appeared in her eyes.

"Make love to me, Goliath. Please. We'll be careful."

He softened his worried look, and kissed her. His hands encircled her tiny waist and suddenly he was on top of her. She grinned at the bold gesture. Instantly, she began removing her shirt. She threw it across the floor, and unzipped her pants. The pants were also thrown across the floor. Goliath surveyed his love in just her bra and panties, and his eyes blazed white at the sight.

"You are beautiful, my love."

She would have blushed if she weren't so full of passion and lust at that moment. She then removed her bra, releasing her round and supple breasts from their cages. Goliath's hand went to one breast, causing Elisa to moan again with passion. She then bent down slightly to remove her panties. With her feet, she flicked the panties away from them. Goliath stopped playing with her breast to admire her sweet centre. There was very little hair there, but it had been carefully groomed. He smiled and took one talon to the spot between Elisa's legs. He gently moved his talon up and down along the lips.

"Mmm…" she moaned. The spot began getting moist with her sexual juices. Goliath continued until he realised that this was teasing her tremendously. He took the same talon and slowly embedded it within her sex. Another moan was heard. He, too, felt incredibly aroused. He looked down to his loincloth, which was barely keeping all of him hidden. Elisa opened her eyes for a second and noticed the bulge.

"I think it's time that you take that off, Big Guy." She laughed at her pun while she reached down to unbuckle the loincloth. Once it was off, Elisa's eyes widened at Goliath's massive member. Big Guy was a great nickname, she thought to herself. She reached down and stroked the lavender-coloured engorged member. It was his turn to moan. Elisa loved every second of it. She had him at her mercy. She stroked again and again, causing his shaft to enlarge more and more, and louder moans to be heard. She even felt some wetness coming from the head. His juices were ready.

"Are you prepared, my love? Are you going to take all of me?" He whispered. Elisa nodded quietly, watching as he prepared to guide his shaft into her. He rose above her a bit, and hovered over her sex. He looked at her, full of lust, before slowly lowering himself onto her, and allowing his organ to enter her. She yelped out in a mixture of pain and pleasure as it entered her deeply but slowly. He pulled out and looked worriedly at her.

"Have I hurt you, my angel?" Elisa shook her head, put her hands on his shoulders, and eased him back upon her.

"More…" She said simply.  
He lowered himself again, and his member slid inside of her a bit easier this time. Her moan sounded less like one of pain, and more like one of pleasure. He withdrew and pumped it back inside. His pace picked up when he saw that she began smiling lustily. He began driving himself deeper within her, and the pace picked up to the point where Elisa began screaming in pleasure.

"Oh God, this feels so amazing. Oooo…"

**_Meanwhile, outside the apartment…_**

Thailog and Demona landed upon the neighbouring apartment building to see what was happening in the detective's apartment.

"The lights are on. She must be home. But I don't see anyone…" Demona said, straining her eyes to see inside.

Thailog then let out a hearty laugh.

"What's so funny?" Demona asked bitterly.

"Look on the floor in the living room there." He pointed to the window. He unfurled his wings to get a closer look, since they were obviously too grossly immersed in what they were doing to notice him. Demona followed him annoyed. They got to the balcony and Demona almost screamed in anger. Thank the dragon that the only thing she could she was Goliath's bare body on top of Elisa, and the motion of his body on top of hers.

Demona could not stand to watch longer than a few seconds. Just as fast as she had landed upon the balcony, she jumped off the building and caught a wind current to take her away from the scene. Thailog followed her silently, still smirking as he took flight towards the estate. He had the feeling that she displayed jealousy towards this scene, and not disgust. He was no fool. He suspected that Demona's motives ran deeper than hurting Goliath. This display proved to him that his suspicions were correct, and that she actually wanted to dispose of the detective to clear the path to him, and rid herself of the competition. There was no chance of that, Thailog thought. I won't just cause my father pain—I will kill him.

Goliath felt his climax coming as he sped up and suddenly began thrusting into her as deeply has her opening would allow.

"My love, I am going to release soon…" Goliath warned, still driving himself into her.

"I want to feel you, Big Guy. I want to feel it." Elisa begged. Goliath continued to thrust until his eyes glowed brightly again, and his climax came. His seed shot out of his shaft, filling Elisa to the brim. Elisa felt the sudden burst and moaned. This new feeling of moisture triggered her climax, and she held onto Goliath's face. She had a feeling that he was like most human males; after climaxing, they were dead to the world and their mate. She refused to let this happen, especially since she was so very close to climaxing herself.

"I'm almost ready…keep going!" She cried out. He nodded, and pounded her for a few more seconds before her climax came, erupting out of her loudly. Goliath felt an excess of moisture around his shaft, which by then was significantly reduced in size, but was still hard as a rock. Elisa threw her head back and closed her eyes after her climax. It had been tiring but so worth it. She felt Goliath laying on her carefully. She knew he was still propping himself up with both hands on either side of her body. Though he was tired, he was still protecting her, even now. He would protect her to his last breath, she concluded. She smiled at the thought that someone cared for her this deeply.

"Goliath…" She whispered.  
"Yes, love?"

"That was awesome."

He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Yes it was, Elisa. I simply adore you. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did."

Meanwhile, back at the Destine Estate, Thailog followed Demona back to the estate, though it was hard to keep up with her. His suspicions were proven to him, and he felt satisfied. With two deaths, he would be literally killing two birds with one stone: He would kill his father's new lover, the detective, then destroy his father—in the process, he would be torturing Demona. It was brilliant, he thought as he watched the reaction Demona displayed towards the scene.

**_She believes I am her pawn, but really, she is mine._**


	5. Chapter 5: Excellent Adventure

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. _

_And, in the case of this particular episode, the title is taken nearly directly from one of my favourite movies of all time, "**Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure**". The only similarity between my story and the movie is the time travelling factor. All other similarities were included out of love and respect for this classic movie, and classic theme. As always, please don't sue me. Pretty Please?_

**_SEASON 2:  
5—Lex and Brook's Excellent Adventure_**

_September 16, 1997, 10:20pm_

Another night began in Manhattan, and the clan awoke to another night of patrols.

Brooklyn came back from patrol to find Lexington looking worn out on the sofa in front of the fireplace in the Great Hall.

"What happened with you?" Brooklyn asked. "It looks like you were run over by one of the Steel Clan or something..." The concern was slight in his voice. Lexington looked up from the television.

"Bad night. I nearly got killed tonight because I'm so small." He said downheartedly. Brooklyn shook his head, and took a seat beside Lexington on the sofa.

"Tell me about it, bro." He inquired gently.

"Well, this thug was trying to mug this teenaged girl when I stepped in. He was massive. I tried to fend him off, but he kicked the crap out of me. Finally, before the thug decided to whip out his gun, Goliath and the others showed up and saved me. I suck." Lexington said in a discouraged tone.

"Not good. But still, Lex, it was just an off night for all of us. It wasn't because you're small. The guy was just huge. Don't blame yourself." Lexington, looking downtrodden, rose from his place on the sofa, and frowned. "I guess I shouldn't, but still...what kind of gargoyle am I if I can't even defend a human properly?" Brooklyn rose to meet Lexington. He walked towards him, and put an understanding hand upon his shoulder.

"It's not how big you are, Lex. It's how you handle yourself. Hey, how about we go to the 5th floor to check out the new computers Xanatos had installed the other day. I bet that would cheer you up..." added Brooklyn optimistically. Though technology wasn't his thing, he'd do it to cheer his rookery brother up. Lexington's expression lightened greatly. "Yea, ok. That sounds good."

Once downstairs, Brooklyn and Lexington used the card key that David had issued them to open the central computer room door. Lexington's eyes darted from computer system to computer system, trying to drink in all that the sights before him had to offer. He looked over at Brooklyn.

"This room is awesome! And these!" He pointed to a large black computer system. "These look like Pentiums! Cool!" He exclaimed, like a kid in a candy store. Brooklyn nodded in self-satisfaction. "Thought you'd like it."

Lexington walked around to another system and was about to exclaim more praise of Xanatos' choice in computer systems when he was interrupted by a loud BANG noise. The room instantly flooded with light from behind both of them. Lexington and Brooklyn turned around to see what the source of the light might be, and shielded their eyes. Their view was just enough to see a large black hole hanging in mid-air right after the door's threshold. The hole was black, and yet emitted so much light that it nearly blinded the both of them.

"What the hell is that!" Brooklyn asked, yelling over the sound of rushing winds that came from the hole.

"I think it's a warp hole or wormhole of some kind. I saw this type of thing on Star Trek the other night. This guy, Stephen Hawkins--"

"Never mind that! How do we get rid of it?" Brooklyn asked hastily.

Lexington pondered for a moment, then, with a determined stance, turned towards Brooklyn.

"I'm going through it! These things aren't dangerous…" He said loudly. Shocked, Brooklyn watched as Lexington began walking through the porthole.

"WHAT! HEY! WAIT UP!" Brooklyn yelled, following Lexington blindly through the porthole. Neither one knew what to expect on the other side, but Lexington's rash decision to enter the hole without considering the consequences of his actions had forced Brooklyn to ensure he was alright and follow him through...

As Lexington and Brooklyn stepped within the porthole, they both felt the sensation of falling through the floor. They screamed wildly, flailing their arms, until they realized that they could use the wind their falling caused to spread their wings and glide to the bottom of wherever they were headed. Brooklyn attempted first, but his wingspan was too large, and he couldn't fully spread his wings. Lexington, too, could not manage to use his wings either, and the both of them continued to fall for what felt like hours.  
Finally, the two young gargoyles came crashing to the grassy ground painfully. Grassy ground?

Lexington was the first to get up from the extensive fall. He looked around him to see where he was. They were on what looked like a country side, covered in grass. It looked like the sun had just set. There was a sweet smell of the harvest in the air. To their right, there was a large forested area. Brooklyn got up slowly from his fall, and looked around also, gasping at what he saw next—a castle larger than Castle Wyvern in the distance.

"Lex, where the hell do you think we are?" He asked, looking at the equally dumbfounded gargoyle. He shook his head.

"I have no idea, but I have a feeling we aren't in Manhattan anymore."

"We aren't even in 1997 anymore! Look!" He pointed at the castle in the distance. "Even in other cities or towns, they have taller buildings than a castle. We must have gone back in time!" Brooklyn hypothesized. Lexington silently walked a few steps towards the forest, when screams and shouts could be heard closing in on them. So as not to be noticed, they dashed into the cover of the forest, and pushed a few branches aside to see who or what was coming towards them. The shouts grew louder and louder, until they saw two young female gargoyles running on all fours as fast as they could, though they seemed to be in pain with each stride. They seemed to be running away from something or someone. Brook and Lex figured out what it was by the shouts they heard. A mob of villagers were chasing them with torches and pitchforks in their hands. Thankfully, they spoke English with a British accent that was understandable to them.

"After them! Those monsters will not get away!" One villager shouted as he and his colleagues rushed past Lexington and Brooklyn into the forest after the scared females.

Brooklyn shook his head and whispered to Lexington: "We have to help them! Come on!" He motioned in the direction that the mob ran and began climbing the nearest tree to be able to glide over the forest and see where they were. Lexington followed suit. Once they were both in the air, their keen eyes glowed white as they saw the mob gaining on the females.

"They look hurt. That could explain why they didn't just glide away." Lexington commented as they watched the females coming to a clearing in the forest.

"We can't take on all those goons," Lexington commented, looking around at them. "There is enough wind here to glide down and get them. What do you say?" Lexington asked, his eyes burning white.

"Let's do it!" Brooklyn replied, diving suddenly to grab one of the females, while Lexington did the same.

The females, one green in colour and one light pink in colour, were huddled together, their faces tormented in pain. The green female had her left hand clutched onto her right shoulder, trying to alleviate the shooting pain stemming from it. Meanwhile, the pink female was kneeling down, holding desperately onto her right knee. There was a large gash below her knee spur, from which the blood was dripping constantly. The green female examined the cut under the dim moonlight.

"The sun will heal you, Eosine." The green female assured.

"Dawn is hours away, Tachia. We need to find shelter and stop running with our injuries."

The sounds of the mob suddenly were audible to the two injured females.

"Those demons are in the forest! We must slay them! Come, brothers!"

The green female, Tachia's ears perked up and her eyes widened in terror for herself and her sister.

"Lord in heaven, they approach. Come, Eosine. We must continue running."

"I cannot, sister. Save yourself. For God's sake..." She struggled to bring herself to her feet, even with the green female aiding her in the attempt.

"I will not leave you here to suffer the mob, sister," She pleaded intensely. "Muster all your strength and..."

Just then, Brooklyn and Lexington swooped in and grabbed Eosine and Tachia swiftly out of the grasp of the angry and blood-thirsty mob that was only a few feet away from them. As the two couples gained more height, Eosine realized what had just happened.

"Who are you?" She asked Lexington, who had been her savior, while Brooklyn had saved Tachia.

"I'm Lexington. This is my rookery brother, Brooklyn. We saw you being chased by that group of angry humans."

"Thank you, Lexington and Brooklyn." Tachia said gratefully, turning to get a good look at her saviour. She liked what she saw. The red skin, the wide beak, the hint of authority in his eyes, these features made her blush slightly.

"Why were they chasing after you two?" Brooklyn asked the female in his arms.

"We were seen rummaging through a barn for food for our clan. The farmer noticed movement in the barn, no doubt, and came barging in. He was the one who dislocated my shoulder," she pointed to her shoulder where the wing limped down weakly. "And 'o cut Eosine on the leg there. Our injuries hindered our escape considerably." Brooklyn and Lexington soared through the evening autumn air, carrying the wounded and exhausted females until Lexington realised that they had yet to know where they were flying to.

"Um, ladies, where should we bring you?" Lexington asked, looking down at his precious cargo.

"Oh, dear me, we nearly forgot about that!" Eosine exclaimed embarrassedly. "We aren't far from our protectorate. Just a little further in this direction. You see those hills beyond the village? We sleep there during the day." She added, pointing to a set of three hills just about two miles off. They continued gliding towards their home in silence.

Once there, Lexington and Brooklyn let the injured gargoyles down slowly, then helped them hobble towards their clan mates upon the dirt floor. At once, one large blue skinned, beaked gargoyle and two smaller adolescent gargoyles came rushing out towards Eosine and Tachia.

"Sisters! What 'appened?" One of the younger gargoyles asked worriedly in the same sort of British accent as Eosine and Tachia. "Some of the humans in the neighbouring village attacked us while we were searching for food in a barn." Tachia replied bitterly, rubbing her shoulder.

"Tachia, we shouldn't 'ave been in there, even if we were searching fer food." Eosine called out behind her while Lexington helped her to sit down. Two of the younger gargoyles ran and got some cloth to stop the bleeding of her gash on her calf. They kneeled before her and began wrapping her leg carefully with the cloth. Eosine hissed painfully as the two younger clan mates tended to her leg, with Lexington standing by her all the while. This was the first time Lexington actually could take a good look at the injured female. Eosine was a beautiful rosy pink shade, which brought out the colour in her hazel brown eyes. She was a bit taller than Lexington. She had shoulder-length brown hair, which was swept behind her pointed ears. She had three brow spurs just below her hairline, and one spur at her wrists and elbows. Her attire, now spattered with blood, was once white in colour. She wore a knee-length skirt, fastened with a large belt, and what humans would call a halter top which grazed her midriff. To Lexington, she looked to be about his age, though the height might have given her another year or two on him. In short, he liked what he saw.

Brooklyn looked around their dwelling and noticed similarities to the rookery they were hatched in back in Scotland. The walls of the cave were slightly damp, and smelled of freshly cut grass. There was a light covering of moss hanging along the walls. Lit by a few short candles, the cave looked like a place that should not actually be inhabited.

For the first time since arriving there, Brooklyn remembered that neither he nor Lexington knew where or when they were.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt you guys...this might seem like a really dumb question, but where are we?"

"And, uh, what year is this?"

The gargoyles around them gave them the queerest look. Brooklyn interjected before they could provide a comment that would correspond with the looks.

"It sounds strange, I know, but humour us, please."

Tachia laughed through her pain. "We are in England, just outside of London, and it is the year of our Lord, 1795. Have you both lost your memories?"

Lexington and Brooklyn looked at each other carefully and then Brooklyn replied with understanding of what they should tell Tachia and the others.

"Uh, yea, we don't remember anything."

"The last thing I remember is gliding, and then suddenly, we fell for one reason or another." Lexington added, understanding that they should not be telling these new gargoyles of their trip through a warp hole from Manhattan, 1997—at least not yet. They needed to be sure of their intentions.

"Same here, Lex." Brooklyn agreed with the lie. "So, um, we should introduce ourselves to the rest of your clan, huh?" Eosine giggled at the oversight.

"Please accept my apologies, Brooklyn. This," She pointed to the light purple adolescent male gargoyle who was still tending to her injury, "This is Edwin. And his twin sister, here," she pointed to the brown skinned gargoyle female, "This is Elaine." The massive beaked gargoyle stepped forward. "And this is our leader, Horatio." He took Brooklyn and Lexington by the hand, but seemed almost disproving of their presence there. "Welcome," He rumbled, seemingly peeved about something, but still wanting to keep the pretence up of a warm host.

"Horatio, these two saved us. If it hadn't been for them, we wouldn't have made it back in time before sunrise."

Horatio's face gave the impression to those around him that he almost didn't believe Tachia's praise of their guests. Still, he narrowed his eyes slightly, exhaled noisily and said, "The sun is nearly about to rise. You may stay here for the day." Brooklyn nodded his thanks, then turned to Lexington and whispered quietly, "What is THAT all about!"

"I dunno, Brook, but maybe he's just the cheerful type like Goliath is when he hasn't seen Elisa for a few days…" Lexington smiled, and then turned to Eosine, who was still sitting on a rock. He knelt down to her level and eyed her injury in sympathy. "Don't worry, Eosine. The sun will heal that right up." She grinned, even though her leg was aching her. "I know. And thank you, by the way, for saving my sister and me." She leaned over and kissed his cheek gratefully. Lexington blushed deeply and smiled. "It was our pleasure."

Meanwhile, Brooklyn was watching as Horatio tended to Tachia's dislocated shoulder by popping it back into place. She screamed out in pain as the elder pulled on Tachia's arm and snapped something remorselessly.

"Tachia, you know that needed to be done. Stop screamin' like a spoiled child!" He bellowed after he had finished. She looked down to her feet, nodded bashfully and watched as Horatio walked away from her. Brooklyn supposed that he was not meant to see that display of bullying, but he did nonetheless, and walked over to Tachia. She was rubbing her shoulder tearfully when Brooklyn approached her.

"Does it feel better?" He asked optimistically. Tachia nodded.

"It hurts less, but it still hurts. Sometimes Horatio can be such a…" Tachia tried to find the appropriate adjective but could not. Brooklyn put a taloned hand upon hers. At that moment, he was able to fully take in her appearance. Her light green skin was radiant and glowed beautifully in the candlelight. Her eyes were the most incredible shade of green, and they lost Brooklyn in them more than once that evening. She was a few inches shorter than Brooklyn in height, but had an amazing wingspan—something any female would be terribly proud of. Tachia had high cheekbones and no brow spurs, which made her delicate-looking face seem almost human (if it weren't green in colour). Her small but pointed ears were concealed behind long and thick braided black hair.

"No worries, Tachia. I understand what you mean. As long as you are alright, and your injury will heal properly with the sun, that is all that matters." Tachia smiled sweetly as she wiped away a final tear of pain from her bright eyes. Brooklyn noticed just then how beautiful she was.

"Thank you for your kind words, and for saving us back there. I don't know where you've come from, but I know that we owe you and your rookery brother our lives." She leaned towards him and squeezed his hand warmly. Brooklyn held onto her hand and squeezed back, smirking kindly. "No problem. Uh, happy to do it."

_**Meanwhile, in Manhattan, September 17, 1997**_

The entire clan returned from patrol to find the Great Hall empty. Neither Lexington nor Brooklyn had had communicators on when they went on patrol that night, so they had no way of reaching them. They weren't worried, for they were trained warriors, and they were together, the clan was sure of it. When the sun rose that morning without their return, the clan figured they had just gotten caught away from home at sunrise—something that most of the clan had had the misfortune of happening to them at one point or another. The next evening, as the sun set, and Goliath and the others awoke, Owen Burnett awaited them at the doors to the castle. One by one, they stepped off their ledges, and approached Owen.

"Good evening, everyone. I trust you all slept well." He began, not sparing them of the monotonous greeting he nearly always approached them with.

"We did, thank you. Is there something wrong?" Hudson asked.

"I wanted to inform you all that Lexington and Brooklyn were in the main computer room on the 5th floor last night at around 11pm. Surveillance cameras caught a disturbance…"

Goliath squinted, not understanding what he was referring to. "Disturbance? Are they alright?"

"Come and see for yourself." Owen replied calmly. He didn't give anything away by his tone. He then led the clan down to the surveillance room near his office to see the video of their disappearance.

The gargoyles huddled around a 32" video monitor while Owen sat at the controls, cueing up the feed for them to see. The screen was black until finally a black and white picture of Brooklyn and Lexington flashed upon the screen. The video was shot from a high corner of the room, so only the tops and backs of the gargoyles could be seen. "The video shows them coming into the main computer room at approximately 10:36pm. As you can see, Lexington was very happy to see all the new gadgets Mr. Xanatos has recently installed here. In any case, they didn't touch anything, nor did they do anything out of the ordinary."

"Ok…I don't get it. Where does this 'disturbance' you talk about fit in here?" Broadway asked, perplexed. Owen was about to fast forward the video when the porthole suddenly appeared upon the large screen. Since there was no colour, it was hard to distinguish what the warp hole was at first. As the image became clearer to the clan, gasps came out from each member. Owen knew there were no words to describe this scene, so he remained silent, at least until one of them asked him something.

They watched in horror as Lexington dashed into the hole, followed by a reluctant Brooklyn.

"Oh no! Where did they go?" Angela cried out, nearly choking on her emotion and uncertainty.

"It seems that they stepped into a warp hole—a rift created in the fabric of time that happens sporadically in different intervals. They could happen anywhere, at any time, and they can take their travelers anywhere in the world—and in time." Owen explained nonchalantly, causing fearful gasps to be emitted from the clan.

"You don't know where they went? Is there no way of bringing them back?" Goliath demanded of Owen.

"Unfortunately, my fey expertise does not extend to time travel. I can no sooner find out where they are than bring them back myself. They are at the mercy of this particular rift in time, I'm afraid." Owen replied, genuinely at a loss.

At this point, Angela began to cry while Bronx began howling. He sensed the sadness that was pervading the room. The clan was beside themselves with worry for their clan mates and friends. They began walking sadly out of the surveillance room.

"If there is anything I can do, Goliath…" Owen called out sympathetically.

Goliath turned around to face him with the sadness lingering in his eyes. "We thank you. Come, everyone. I think patrols are off tonight." He said, exiting the room melancholically.

The clan spent the next few hours trying to come to terms with the idea of Brooklyn and Lexington being gone forever. They sat around the fire in the Great Hall remembering their best times with their rookery brothers.

"I remember the time we accidentally stole a motorcycle because Lexington just had to see how it worked. He kinda blew it up, though, but it was a funny scene. He loved gizmos like that."

"Brooklyn was a strong second in command. I'm sure wherever or whenever they are right now, they are together, and keeping each other safe." Goliath said solemnly. The clan nodded sadly in agreement.

"The lads were courageous and brave. They will never be forgotten." Hudson stated.

Goliath rose from his seat to look at the remaining members of his clan. "We have been through many different situations, but this is definitely the strangest one. I would not wish to give up hope that Brooklyn and Lexington will return someday, but the chances of that are…"

A sudden burst of light came shooting out from the corner of the room, along with four scared yells, followed by a few loud thuds upon the hard stone floor. A porthole had spit out four gargoyles. Goliath walked over cautiously towards the gargoyles upon the floor. They were still face down on the floor. The males attempted to pull themselves up from the floor to no avail. Goliath motioned the others to come and help the four strangers up. Angela and Broadway helped the green and pink skinned female gargoyles while Hudson and Goliath helped up the olive green and red skinned male gargoyles. Goliath was the first to notice who the gargoyles were that he had helped up.

**_"BROOKLYN! LEXINGTON!"_**

"Goliath! It's you!" Brooklyn replied, embracing his leader in a strong hug. Lexington was next to hug Goliath.

"It's been so very long!" He exclaimed. "You all look exactly the same!" He turned around to look at the others. "What year is this?" He asked Angela as he shook her hand happily.

"It's 1997. You went missing last night. We were so worried for you both!"

Brooklyn beamed. "Only one night has passed? Incredible!" He walked over to the other gargoyles that Broadway and Angela had helped up. He reached the green skinned female and hugged her.

"This is home, darling! Manhattan!"

The green and pink females beamed joyously. "Wonderful, my love!"

Brooklyn looked at Goliath before he could even ask what was happening.

"I think we should all sit down and explain. But first, Goliath, Angela, Broadway, Hudson, this is my mate, Tachia." Lexington walked over towards them, holding the pink skinned gargoyle's hand.

"And this is my mate, Eosine."

"Mates? Um…welcome to our clan, Tachia and Eosine." Goliath said in a surprised tone and then smiled profoundly. It seemed the youngest members of the clan had come into their own and grown as individuals. Lexington's stature had also grown, it seemed—about two feet of height had been added since the last time Goliath had seen him. He also seemed to stand straighter, full of self-confidence and assertion. No longer the smallest gargoyle of the clan, Lexington now looked as if he was older, stronger, and wiser as well. Could it have been so long since they last graced Manhattan?

Brooklyn escorted his mate to the sofa in front of the fireplace and motioned for her to sit. "There is much to tell, everyone! Come!" said Brooklyn, demonstrating a new found sense of leadership and confidence. At least, it seemed newly found to the rest of the clan. In actuality, it had grown over the 6 years away from Manhattan. At once, all the gargoyles surrounded the sofa and either sat down or stood around.

"Lex, you look a bit…" Broadway commented, studying Brooklyn and Lexington's faces, noticing the slight fine lines around their eyes, as well as Brooklyn's white back-length hair which was tied in a pony tail.

"Older? Yeah…that's what happens when you're gone for 6 years." Lexington replied jokingly. He held Eosine's hand tenderly as she sat admiring her surroundings silently.

"6 years? Where were you all that time?" Angela asked curiously.

"We lived with Tachia and Eosine's clan in England. That's where they are from. We went to the year 1795. It was beautiful. It made me miss Scotland, but it made us long to come back to Manhattan even more. There were no cars, no skyscrapers, no stoves…" Brooklyn laughed, holding Tachia's hand tightly. He looked at her to see the wonder in her eyes at her surroundings.

"This castle is truly wondrous. Brooklyn, do you think it would be alright if we went sightseeing in a few minutes?"

Brooklyn gazed over at Goliath, who smiled. "I suppose it's alright, Tachia. There will be plenty of time for catching up. Goliath, everyone, would you please come with us? I remember a lot, but it's hard to tell for sure where my knowledge ends."

"Yeah," Lexington chimed in. "We don't want to get lost."

Goliath rose and nodded. "I understand. Come, everyone. Let's show our friends the city."

High above Manhattan, Brooklyn, Tachia, Lexington and Eosine admired the buildings and the lights with new eyes. Everything brought wonderful memories back to Brooklyn and Lexington, and amazed the 18th century females. The sounds of the city streets, alive with activity, surprised Eosine, but she was not afraid. Tachia, on the other hand, was terrified of cars when she first saw them.

"Dear God, what ARE those? Monsters? Demons?" She said, petrified, reaching for Brooklyn's hand.

"Not to worry, love. Remember what I told you about petroleum-run motor vehicles—those are the cars." His words calmed her down, though she was still visibly apprehensive about those monsters on four wheels.

After a glide through of the city, and taking in as much of the city as the foreigners could, the clan returned to their home, and was greeted by an unfamiliar human to the 18th century females.

"Elisa!" Lexington and Brooklyn exclaimed as they landed upon the stones of the castle. She was not expecting such a welcome from them—Goliath, maybe…

"Guys! What's wrong? You just saw me two nights ago! What's this all about?" She asked, chuckling between their hugs. Goliath walked over to his love and put a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll explain inside."

"Where is Adam? I've wanted to see him for so long!" Brooklyn asked excitedly. Elisa pointed towards the Great Hall silently. As soon as she finished her motion, both Brooklyn and Lexington ran inside to see the sleeping child in his carrier. Elisa looked up at Goliath with her eyebrows furrowed.

"It's as if they haven't seen Adam or me in years."

"They haven't, darling." He smiled profoundly, causing Elisa to be even more confused. The rest of the clan followed the two excited gargoyles inside.

They found Brooklyn holding Adam lovingly. The child had just woken up, and was pulling on one of Brooklyn's talons quietly.

"My godson, Tachia. Come and see him. He's precious, isn't he, love?" He said, calling Tachia to him. Elisa gave Goliath another confused look, to which Goliath answered, "Soon"  
Tachia, Eosine and Lexington walked over to them and smiled.

"I missed him!" Lexington commented.

"I can see why, Lex. He is so well behaved." Eosine went to touch his shirt when a small pendant on a chain slipped out from under his shirt. She took a good look at it.

"St. Michael the Archangel. This child is well protected. God bless him." She smiled and kissed the baby's hand lightly.

Elisa walked over to Brooklyn and Adam. "He is. I don't want to sound idiotic, but I thought gargoyles didn't believe in God, or at least in Christianity." Eosine and Tachia looked over at Elisa, their faces soft with understanding.

"It is not a commonality for gargoyles to believe in Jesus Christ, but my sister and I are practicing Christians. We were raised believing in our Lord and Saviour by our clan. God has helped us on more than one occasion, so we do our part in giving Him thanks." Eosine explained.

"We don't stop them from doing what they believe in." Lex added, stroking Eosine's hand. "We love them just the same." He laughed. Elisa looked at both strange gargoyles and shook her head.

"Interesting. So where is this explanation I was promised?" She said with an air of playfulness in her otherwise more than confused voice. Goliath turned to Brooklyn and Lexington and gave them a meaningful look.

"Elisa, you might want to sit down…"

As the sun rose, Demona underwent her daily routine of transformation before her workday began. She painfully changed into Dominique Destine and then walked towards the exit of her bedroom to have her chauffeur drive her to the Nightstone Unlimited building.

Dominique Destine began her morning as usual, with a freshly-made Monte Cristo sandwich and a black coffee. _Blast these humans with their morning rituals_, she thought. _They have me craving deep-fried foods_. She looked over the morning reports while sipping her piping hot coffee. The sun shone brightly through the large windows, causing the room to feel ten times larger. Dominique had gotten used to seeing this bright light penetrating the room since her first transformation nearly two years ago. At first, she had resorted to shutting the blinds, but now almost felt satisfied when she allowed the light to enter her office.

Just then, a beep interrupted her thoughts. She looked down at her intercom system on the desk and pressed the button.

"Yes, what is it?" Dominique asked in an annoyed tone. She would have added the assistant's name to the question, but she recently had to hire a new one, so she had yet to learn the woman's name.

The monotonous voice of her new personal assistant, Debbie, came on the intercom.

"Madame, I have just received the file on the Manhattan Psychiatric Center you requested."

Dominique smiled at this bit of news. "Perfect. Bring it in." She released the intercom button.

After Debbie brought in the file and left, Dominique opened it, and chuckled to herself as she flipped through the case file of one Ricky Murdoch, a permanent resident of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center since 1986. She read on.

_Mr. Murdoch, 38, is a paranoid schizophrenic pyromaniac who believes he hears the voices of the dead. He has been linked to several different arson cases in and around the city, including a fire at his old high school, his previous place of employment and the home of a childhood enemy. The specific incident that served as the basis for his committal to this facility involved the destruction of a historical building in downtown Manhattan in June 1983. Murdoch attempted to kill himself, blowing the building up while still inside, but was rescued by firefighters. He claims the voice of his grandfather told him it was necessary for him to enter into heaven and see him once again. His mother and father signed for his committal on November 26, 1986, as he posed a serious threat to himself and others. Both parents are now deceased. _

Demona sat back in her chair and stretched her hands out behind her head. She felt satisfied…  
_"He is the perfect candidate for my next phase. Thailog will be pleased."_

**_Author's Note:_**

Tachia is pronounced **TAK-EE-A**. "Tach" is Greek, which means "swift". Eosine is pronounced **A-O-SEEN**. "Eos" is Greek, which means "dawn, early age" or "rosy". My knowledge of Greek and Latin terminology finally paid off!

Questions, comments? Email me or R&R please!


	6. Chapter 6: Preparation for Things 2 Come

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. As always, please do not sue me. Pretty Please?_**

Synopsis: Thailog and Demona plot to break out a mental patient, Elisa has a personal conversation with the newest members of the clan, and Times Square suddenly gets thrown into a state of panic...

**_SEASON 2:  
6—Preparation for Things to Come_**

_**September 17, 1997**_

The early morning sun shone through the small window just above the patient's bed.  
'Patient' actually wasn't the correct term for his particular situation. It was more like he was a resident of the facility. His records showed that he was far beyond any sort of treatment, but that it was best to keep him in this place, both for his own good and the good of the public at large.

He lay asleep on his sterile single bed under the bleached sheet. He was restless,  
tossing back and forth amidst a terrible dream. He rose up suddenly, eyes opened wide. The beads of sweat dripped down from his large forehead slowly. His breathing was shallow, but quick. He ran a hand through his thinning light brown hair as he tried to regain his composure. He glanced around the room briefly before realising that he was still in this god awful place; it was the same place he had been held in for 11 years. Yes, it had been eleven years since he was sent to this place. His parents had signed him over to this place, under the care of some specific doctors. They said he was a threat to himself and others. They were right. If given the chance, Ricky Murdoch would have killed a few more people that day. Instead, the authorities were tipped off to the location of the bomb he had made, and they were able to get most of the workers out of the building before it went off. It wasn't because of a hateful nature he possessed; rather, he did what he did out of love. His grandpa Ralph appeared to him and told him exactly where to find the bomb-making book, and encouraged him to set it off while inside the building so that they would be reunited. His grandpa even added that the more people that were killed in this explosion, the more proud he would be of his grandson.

6:12 pm In her bedroom on the second floor of her massive estate, Dominique Destine changed back into her natural form painfully and afterwards watched as Thailog awoke from his stone-induced sleep. Shielding her face from the shards of stone skin that flew this way and that, she greeted Thailog.

"I have news." She said simply. He smiled sinisterly.

"Finally. Two months of stagnation and hiding was beginning to make me murderous.  
This had better be good."

She patted him on the shoulder, then handed him Ricky Murdoch's file folder. He looked at it and shrugged.

"What is this?" He asked, opening the file folder slightly and flipping through the pages until he came across the small passport-sized picture of a balding,  
40-something man with dark circles around his eyes and a sickly pale complexion.

"He is the key to our next step." Demona said, watching Thailog's expression carefully for any changes as he studied this picture before him. She gave him a minute before continuing. "Read page five."

He did as she instructed, and flipped back to page five and began reading. She allowed him another moment to peruse the page. It was the information she had read that morning.

"And what of him? Why is he important to our plans? This is taking far too long,  
Demona!" Thailog bellowed peevishly.

"This is just another deception that I feel is necessary. Besides, I need to locate a particular book of spells in order to carry out our final plan, and it is taking some time to actually find it."

"A book? You mentioned nothing of this before, Demona. What do you need a spell book for?" Thailog was becoming increasingly more aggravated.

"The book, the 'Cryptatae Magnus', contains a certain spell that will bind anyone in their place using a type of rope that I already have in my possession. The spell is only broken 'when the silence is broken by death'."

Thailog raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "Meaning…?"

"—Meaning that only when the whore, Elisa Maza, dies will the bindings be released."

The clone seemed to like this idea, because he allowed a grisly smile to surface upon his discoloured face.

"I see. So, about this man—how is he instrumental in our plans?" Thailog asked,  
steering the conversation away from the spell book, as he had sufficiently accepted her reasoning. She turned to the desk in the corner of the room and picked up a piece of paper on it. Folding it and tucking it away in her shirt, she replied, "We must go to the psychiatric ward. We need to bail out a future ally."

_**Castle Wyvern, 6:28pm**_

The newest members of the clan, Eosine and Tachia stayed behind that evening from patrols with Hudson and Bronx while Brooklyn and Lexington accompanied the others for their first patrol in six years. The females were still adjusting to all of the new wonders of the 20th century, such as television, cars, and planes. Hudson shared with them his expertise in adjusting to such a fascinating and wondrous world. A half hour into his conversation with them, Owen came up into the Great Hall to announce Elisa's presence in the castle, and then left.  
She walked towards the three gargoyles and the garg-beast and greeted them warmly.

"Hello, Ms. Maza." Eosine said kindly.

"How are you?" Tachia added.

Elisa smiled, and shook her head. "You don't have to call me that. We're all family.  
Please, call me Elisa."

Eosine and Tachia bowed their heads. "If you wish…Elisa." Tachia replied.

Elisa giggled. "Thanks. Anyways, I'm good. I dropped Adam off at my parent's house just now. I'll go pick him up in a few hours. My brother, Derek, and Maggie were over there, and they wanted to spend some time with him tonight, too. While they're doing that, I decided to come by and spend some time getting to know you two a bit better."

Hudson smiled, and rose from his recliner, motioning to Bronx to leave the room. "We will leave ya three to get better acquainted. Come, boy." With that, he left the room.

Eosine smiled genuinely. "We heard much about your brother, Derek, and his love,  
Maggie. They were turned into gargoyles, and then were returned to their natural state by Mr. Xanatos and Demona, right?"

Elisa cringed when she heard the latter name. "Yeah, that's right. They live about forty-five minutes away from here in a beautiful house. Did Brook and Lex tell you about the clones?"

Tachia nodded. "Yes. It must be terrible knowing that hate brought you into this world."

"I imagine, but they seem to be doing better everyday. Derek and Maggie help them to read, and are in the process of teaching them how to speak proper English. So,  
Eosine, tell me, how are you finding 1997?"

Eosine laughed. "It is truly a marvellous time, full of wonder. But it is overwhelming at times, to be sure."

Elisa laughed to herself. She is perfectly suited to Lexington. She seems to be fascinated by the new things she sees around her, just like Lex is.

"That's how they reacted to it when they were first awakened. But they managed to adjust fast enough. I'm sure Brook and Lex told you everything there is to know about Manhattan."

"Oh yes, that is why, when the warp hole—as Lexington calls it—appeared, we jumped at the chance to go through it, simply because that is how they came to us. We prayed that we would be brought to 1997, and the good Lord heard our prayers"  
Tachia replied, smiling happily.

Elisa shared in the happiness. She knew that the clan would never be the same had Lex and Brook never returned. Now they had returned with mates, but to top it all off, they both shared the love for Manhattan that the boys did. She saw the genuine joy both females shared in their arrival to 1997 as well.

"I still can't get over Brook and Lex having mates. It really is awesome. They are all grown up."

Eosine blushed, causing her light pink skin to deepen in colour slightly all over.  
"Yes, Lexington most definitely is." Tachia giggled at her sister's blushing, and retorted.

"Elisa, I must know: you and Goliath are…mated?"

Now it was Elisa's turn to blush. "No, I don't think that's even possible for a human and gargoyle to be mated in the way of a ceremony, but, um, I mean, we love each other very much. We've been through so much together. Brook never told you?"

"The boys told us, but we found it hard to believe. It just seemed very odd."

Elisa shook her head, almost annoyed that they would say such a thing. "If you knew Goliath, you'd know that it's very easy to love him. I look past all the differences and see him with my heart. He is the greatest person I've ever known."

Tachia seemed impressed by Elisa's words. She tilted her head to look at the human.  
"It's funny. Brooklyn described your personality perfectly."

Elisa was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Just that he described you as a confident woman who knows her own opinion, and is firm in her beliefs. Women like that were hard to find back home—gargoyles like that as well. I always admired you. At least, I admired the person Brooklyn described to me. Now I see he was entirely accurate." She commented, with a tone in her voice that suggested that he meant every word she said. Though this was the first time Elisa actually had a conversation with her, she knew that Tachia was honest in her words.

"Thanks, Tachia. I'm flattered that the boys told you so much about me."

Eosine was still confused. "Elisa, I still do not understand somethin'. Is Goliath attracted to you? I mean, physically? Gargoyles are not meant to be attracted to anyone but their kind. That was somethin' I always wanted to ask you, if given the chance. Now that I have it…"

"Well, uh, I think so. I am to him, at least. That's a small part of what we have,  
though, Eosine. Our relationship is about more than that. I love him for who he is,  
not what he is." Elisa was a bit uncomfortable with this line of questioning, so was very relieved when she heard padded feet landing outside the Great Hall. Goliath,  
followed by Brooklyn, Angela, Lexington and Broadway entered the large space one by one. Goliath walked directly towards Elisa. She rose and extended her hand to him.  
He took it in one of his mighty hands and kissed it as he enfolded her in a hug.

"My love, I missed you."

Still somewhat flustered by the questions, Elisa stumbled a bit in her reply, then regained her composure in front of the new gargoyles. "I, uh, missed you even more,  
Big Guy."

Tachia and Eosine turned to her before also rising to greet their mates.

"Elisa, please forgive us for our questions." Eosine apologised. Elisa turned back to her, and smirked. "No need to apologise. You'll see what I mean one of these days."

After a half hour with them, Elisa decided to head back to her parent's house, pick up Adam, and go home. She was already missing her son like crazy. She said her goodbyes and began her trek back to the suburb outside of Manhattan.

* * *

_**7:09pm**_

High above Manhattan, Demona and Thailog glided towards their destination: Manhattan Psychiatric Centre, located on East 125th street. Demona hadn't said a word to Thailog about why this man was important besides her brief explanation earlier at her estate. Now the clone wanted a specific answer.

"Demona, why are we breaking this crazy man out? Surely he will go even more mad once he sees us…"

Demona shook her head and pulled out the piece of paper she had grabbed right before leaving her bedroom. Grasping it firmly in her hand so as not to let it fly away in the wind, she waved it at him, then brought it back in front of her face and began reading.

"Cryptoactatum areuum, auditae aureaeum, casum cedii incretiatae. Dualii personae."

She chanted this verse only once, pointing to Thailog as she spoke. From her hands,  
a black mist originated, and encircled his head and then disappeared instantly.  
Thailog was stunned, and angered.

"What in the HELL was that!" His distrust shined through just then. Demona made a mental note of this and answered.

"Calm yourself, Thailog. I just cast a spell on you to ensure his madness doesn't grow when he sees you. As his file mentioned, Murdoch hears the voice of his grandfather. The spell I cast will make your voice sound to him as the voice he hears. Your appearance will also simulate that of his grandfather to him. Your appearance hasn't actually been altered, but everyone who sees you from now will see you as an old man until I cast the spell that will reverse this. Understand?" She asked, seeing the Manhattan Psychiatric Centre in the near distance. Thailog understood exactly.

"Am I to control him?"

Demona grinned. "Yes, exactly. Once you break him out, you will earn his trust and tell him to do as I command. Manhattan will be sent into a state of panic tonight."

_**

* * *

8:01pm **_

Ricky Murdoch had just finished writing in his diary for the night. His entry wasn't substantial at all. He mentioned how the nurse who gave him his food looked exceptionally pretty that day, and how his grandfather had stopped visiting him in his dreams. He was starting to believe that he was never going to speak to him again. It had been four months since the last time his grandfather had said a word to him.

"Maybe I really AM crazy, like my parents said," he had written. He put the book aside and then watched as the lights went out at 8:00pm, like they did every night.  
He lay down on his sterile bed, hands behind his head, and sighed quietly. He turned his head to look out the tiny window to the left of the bed. The moon shone behind some dark clouds. It looked as if it might rain. Ricky decided to close his eyes and try to sleep before it began to rain. He had a terrible fear of rain. Just another thing that made his parents think that he was insane. He heard a thudding noise. Probably thunder in the distance, he told himself. Sleep, sleep, sleep!

Another thud, but no thunder followed.

"What the hell?" He questioned aloud, rising up in bed. He decided to walk over to the window and see the thunder. His fear only extended to the rain itself and not the thunder that usually came with a storm.

He quietly walked over to the window, and stood upon his tiptoes to peer out of the barred window. He saw nothing but evening. It actually didn't even look like it was going to rain after all, much to his relief. He walked half-way to his bed again when a loud metal-on-metal sound was heard from his window. He turned towards the window to see it being ripped apart by…his grandfather!

"Grandpa? Is that you?" Ricky asked in complete shock as he saw the seemingly frail hands of his grandfather, weathered by age spots and sun damage, effortlessly pulling the window frame out and stepping into Ricky's room.

"Yes, Ricky, it's me. Come! We must get out of here!" His grandfather extended a hand towards Ricky. Still in shock, Ricky took his grandfather's hand and closed his eyes as he suddenly felt the sensation of falling and then the wind through what was left of his balding hair. Opening his eyes, he saw that he and his grandfather were soaring through the sky above the city.

"How the hell are we flying, grandpa?"

Confidently, his grandfather replied, "That isn't important, Ricky. Right now, we have to finish what you started all those years ago."

Ricky beamed, not caring how or why his grandfather was here now, flying. "You mean I'm going to be with you, grandpa, for good?"

"Yes, but only if you do exactly as I tell you," He pulled out what looked to Ricky like a crude homemade bomb with a timer on it. "Can you do that, Ricky?"

"Definitely."

Demona watched from farther off as Thailog carried Ricky Murdoch in his arms and spoke with him. Her plan was going to go off without a hitch. Not only would she destroy at least a hundred humans, but she would also make sure that her attempt to save one would coincidentally be performed right in front of Goliath, proving to him that her hatred of humanity was finished. It couldn't be farther from the truth, but this was the second to last step of the plan, as long as she found that blasted spell book.

The Cryptatae Magnus was crucial because she knew that the second the gargoyles knew Maza was in danger, they would go to any lengths to release her. This way, only Maza's death can release her. In a way, she would have a humane death; it would be quick, and probably painless, but she had to make sure she would die, and the only way to do that is to keep her exactly where she is. Demona didn't want to give her such a nice death, but it was the only way to keep Demona from being blamed for the murder. This manner, which she hadn't even shared with Thailog, was going to be fitting. A bomb, human designed and constructed, would be placed in her apartment while she slept. Thailog would finally be revealed to Goliath and the others, and would be the one implicated—not Demona. It was ingenious thinking, she thought.  
Poor, distraught Goliath would be beside himself with sadness and Demona would be there to comfort him. After a few weeks, she estimated, he would be ready to love her again. Demona chuckled to herself.

Thailog glided carrying this twit, Ricky in his arms, hating this human more and more as he spoke. The human mentioned how wonderful it was to hear his grandfather's voice again after almost four months without any word from him. Thailog apologized for the absence, and explained that he had been busy planning for their reunion. He knew he sounded absolutely pathetic, but it seemed to work on this pitiful creature he held in his powerful arms. Thailog knew that Demona wanted this bomb to detonate somewhere there were many humans, but she had given him two main places to go with Ricky to do it: Two of the busiest places in Manhattan, Times Square and Broadway Avenue.

The plan was to strap the bomb onto himself and demand a million dollars in return for his promise that he wouldn't set off the bomb. Thailog knew what sort of attention Demona wanted: the type that would solicit the gargoyles and a noble attempt to protect the city.

Thailog wanted Demona's plan to work, but also wanted to make her squirm a bit. If I find Maza, and put her life in danger now, in front of Goliath, surely Demona will have to suck it up and save her while he watches. It will kill her. I love it.

Thailog knew her schedule now inside and out, as Demona had made him do. It was a Wednesday, so she was taking her son for a drive to her parents' house just outside Manhattan. The route she always took home led her directly through Times Square.  
This was going to work out perfectly.

He set Ricky down in a back alley a few blocks away from Times Square.

"We will set the bomb off here, right in the middle of Times Square. But first,  
demand one million dollars."

Ricky blinked. "But, grandpa, I don't WANT any money. I only want to be with you up there."

Thailog grew impatient with this charade. He exhaled noisily and shouted, "Do it,  
otherwise you will NEVER see me again!"

Ricky nodded quickly. "Ok, ok. Now?"

Thailog nodded. Ricky took the bomb out of his hands and ran onto the street towards the bright lights of the NASDAQ and the billboards. Thailog followed him, gauging the reaction of the humans towards him: none. He was impressed by Demona's spell.

Perhaps this will be useful after all.

Ricky ran between the hoards of taxis driving through Times Square, and finally got to the middle of the street, despite the honks all around him of very disgruntled motorists.

He held up the bomb and shouted, "I HAVE A BOMB! I WANT MONEY! OTHERWISE, I'LL BLOW TIMES SQUARE UP!"

Shouts of terror came from the tourists around him as they ran away from him as quickly as possible, while others who didn't understand him followed the trend and took off down the street as well. Suddenly, there was a huge dispersal of people from the immediate area. The taxi drivers and motorists who previously honked now abandoned their cars and fled the scene. Within a few minutes, camera crews and WVRN anchorman Travis Marshall was on the scene, bringing just the type of attention Demona craved.

The clan was sitting around the fireplace, listening to a story that Brooklyn and Lexington were telling about 1795. Hudson listened, but his attention was suddenly drawn to the bright lights of Times Square as a 'breaking news bulletin' flashed upon the screen of the television.

"Sorry ta interrupt, but look there." He said as he grabbed the remote control and raised the volume higher. Travis Marshall suddenly appeared on the screen.

"…he claims he has a bomb and demands one million dollars from local agencies or else he will detonate it. The man has been identified as Ricky Murdoch, an escaped mental patient from Manhattan's Psychiatric Centre. He has a history of violence much like this incident, so police are cautioning all to…" Hudson turned the television off suddenly. Goliath rose as he did this, knowing exactly what must be done.

"Everyone, we must stop this from happening. If you can, try to save this man. He is not well, and is not in his right mind. Come!" He called, running towards the doors,  
spreading his wings and majestically gliding towards Times Square. The others followed quickly.

* * *

"WHERE IS MY MONEY?" Ricky Murdoch bellowed as loudly as he could, though it wasn't nearly as scary as he thought he sounded. He also didn't look very scary,  
either. He still wore the standard white itchy poplin shirt and pants the psychiatric facility issued to him. He looked small and insignificant, but the bomb definitely gave him power and importance he had never had before. The only thing that stopped a couple hundred on-lookers from rushing him was the fact that he had the bomb in his hand, and that it looked pretty damn real to take the chance of him pressing the little red button right beside the clock. 

The camera, safely at a distance, still filmed every second of the action, while Demona stayed even farther away, on a roof-top, observing everything. By now, she surmised, the gargoyles would be on their way to rescue the city yet again, and receive no gratitude for their efforts, as usual. They need to be shown the error of their ways, and once Maza is out of the picture, and she is with Goliath once more,  
she will be the one to show them.

"Grandpa, where are you?" Ricky called out, looking around him. The plastic bomb was still held over his head, to show everyone around that he meant business. Thailog emerged from the crowd.

"Ricky, you're doing great. Soon we'll be together permanently." He replied,  
stepping closer to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the authorities trying to move in and tackle him. He looked up and saw a sniper rifle poking out of a nearby window, aimed directly at Ricky's head. Damnit, Thailog thought, this will be over before anything happens. I must take action now, and let this annoying human perish.

He stepped a bit closer to Ricky. "Ricky, give me the bomb. You and I shall now be together forever. You have done what I commanded."

Ricky looked scared suddenly. "What? But I didn't kill anyone. I don't get it,  
Grandpa."

Thailog took another final step closer. He was now close enough to grab the bomb from Ricky's shaking hand, and so he did. He yanked it out of his hand, and took off down the street. The SWAT team members tackled Ricky mercilessly, and arrested him. A few police officers began running after the old man who had taken the bomb from Ricky on foot.

Above, Demona watched the entire event happen. "What on earth is he doing? He should have detonated the bomb!" She nearly yelled as she spread her wings and took off trying to follow Thailog, rather, that old man who had stolen the bomb.

Goliath and the rest of the clan, including the newest members, arrived at Times Square just in time to witness the old man grabbing the bomb from the mental patient's hand and take off running down the street. Goliath followed the old man in the air above him.

* * *

Elisa was stuck in traffic. But there was never traffic this bad down this way.  
There must be an accident up ahead, she thought to herself. She turned back to her son, safely strapped in his baby carrier/seat and contemplated turning on her sirens to get out of that traffic and see if she could be of any use up ahead, but decided that that would be a gross misuse of power, though many of her colleagues were guilty of doing that more than once. She looked around the street a few more seconds until she saw the normal crowds of people parting like the Red Sea, and then a strange looking old man running. In his frail hands, he held something that looked to Elisa like a bomb. She had sat in on more than one bomb-squad meeting and knew what certain types of bombs looked like. Elisa looked directly at the old man, who seemed to have incredible strength and endurance for a man his age, and was about to pull out her spare gun in the glove box when she saw that he met her gaze and slowly began walking towards her, holding the bomb in his hands, and smiling sickly.  
Terror-stricken, Elisa grabbed the gun out of her glove box, got out of her car and watched as the crazed-looking old man walked closer and closer towards her car from across the street. She aimed her gun at him, but stopped when he raised a hand to the little red button on the top of it. 

"You shoot, and I detonate it, Miss Maza."

"How the hell do you know my name!" She shouted, feeling trapped.

The man approached her car. He looked into the car and saw the peaceful face of Elisa's two month-old son for the first time up-close. "You have a beautiful son.  
Too bad." He turned around to see a car that was void of any humans and walked briskly towards it. He grabbed the bomb, pressed the button, and took off. Elisa didn't have enough time to take cover before the bomb exploded only a few cars away from the Fairlane. The car Thailog had placed the bomb in flipped over, landing on another car. Luckily, no one was in the car it landed upon. Elisa was thrown a few feet away due to the force of the blast. She landed near the squished car, and was rendered completely unconscious from the fall. Around her, a steady drip of gasoline began accumulating from both gas tanks of the cars.

Demona caught up with Thailog just as he ran away from the blast. She witnessed the blast, and was happy to see that disgusting red car at the scene. Perhaps Maza had even been injured. Just then, as she was about to glide off, she saw the entire clan approaching.

"Demona! What are you doing here?" Brooklyn asked angrily. Goliath was about to silence him when the blast happened. The clan had no idea that Elisa was even at the scene until an older male's voice bellowed, "That car is going to explode! Someone help that poor woman!" and saw the Fairlane on the street.

Demona, who was far closer than Goliath and the others, cursed silently.

_I can't believe I am doing this…_

She swooped down, picked up the unconscious Elisa and brought her to Goliath's waiting arms. She then glided back down into Elisa's car, and pulled the bastard child from the seat. She felt a sense of repulsion as she held the boy. He instantly began crying at her touch, and Demona shared this sentiment, but refused to let her feeling show through her expression. He glided back to the clan and handed the crying and frightened child to Brooklyn. Just as the child left Demona's arms, the said car exploded loudly.

"Thank you, Demona." Brooklyn said almost annoyed.

"It was nothing, Brooklyn. Is she alright?" She asked Goliath, nearly throwing up when the words escaped her mouth. He looked at the unconscious form in his arms.

"Yes, she will be fine. Thank you, Demona. You saved her life."

Demona hated herself so much just then. But, she thought, this might work to my advantage.

"It was nothing. I must be going now. Take them home. They both need rest." With that, she glided off into the night.

* * *

Elisa awoke with a large headache. She looked around her. She was home, but in bed.  
She tried to get up when a gentle hand guided her back down to her pillow. 

"Please, Elisa, do not get up. You need to relax."

"What happened? One moment, I'm face to face with this weird old man with a bomb,  
and the next, I'm home."

"He set off a bomb, and you were knocked unconscious. Xanatos had a doctor check you. Luckily, you didn't break any bones. Demona saved you from—"

"Wait, Demona saved me? What the hell…"

"I owe her for saving your life, my love. If she wasn't there, you and Adam would have been killed."

"That's impossible. She can't have saved me. She hates me!"

"Perhaps she has forgotten her grudge against you."

"I'm not the only one that bumped my head, right? You can't be serious! She doesn't have a benevolent bone in her body. She has some sort of ulterior motive for saving me. I just know it. She wouldn't just do it out of the kindness of her heart. She has no heart!"

"Elisa, I do not wish to argue with you. She had no reason to save you except that perhaps she really is trying…"

"Bullshit. You can believe what you want, but—" Elisa made a face in pain. Her headache had just intensified.

"My love, please relax. The doctor said your headache would be gone when you wake up in the morning. Please, Elisa, do not worry about Demona right now.

Adam is safe, you are safe, and you will be fine. Your parents are watching him until you feel better. Promise me you'll take it easy today?" Goliath asked optimistically. Elisa frowned, but saw the absolute love in his eyes, and her expression softened.

She sighed. "Ok, Big Guy. I promise. I love you." He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too, my angel. Now rest. I will see you tonight…"

She closed her eyes, trying to forget the events of the evening, especially Demona's part in rescuing her.

* * *

Demona took a shower upon arriving back at her estate because of how disgusted she felt after saving Maza. 

She couldn't locate Thailog anywhere, and she spent nearly three hours searching for him. Perhaps he had been detained by the police. After all, they all see him as an elderly man. Thailog finally arrived back at the estate just a few moments before sunrise. He wore a self-satisfied smirk as he turned to stone, too quickly for Demona to question him as to why he ran with the bomb and exploded it near Maza's car. She concluded that he thought it was going to help their cause. The funny thing was that it actually did. Goliath thanked her again for her part in saving Maza and the bastard child, and even the clan saw this. Plus, her acting abilities had helped her pull it off by keeping a sympathetic and heroic face on the entire trying ordeal.  
As she herself turned into Dominique Destine, her cellular phone began ringing. Looking for it, she reached under her desk and pulled the small phone up and answered it.

"Miss Destine, sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but your instructions were that the instant we located the Cryptatae Magnus, we would inform you."

Demona grinned evilly. "That's perfectly alright. How soon can it be shipped to my office?"

"By Halloween, you should have your book, madame."

"_Perfect."_


	7. Chapter 7: Histories of Violence

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. Also, the name from this episode, it is taken from that godawful movie, a History of Violence. I didn't enjoy the movie at all, but the title seemed fitting to this chapter. As always, please don't sue me. Pretty Please?_

**_7—Histories of Violence_**

Synopsis: Goliath asks for some advice from an unlikely source, Tachia tells her new clan about the horror beset upon her 1795 clan, and Jon Canmore AKA Jon Castaway goes over the deep end. Meanwhile, someone old and evil dies…

**_October 2, 1997_**

Goliath shook the remnants of the stone skin off his mighty shoulders and stepped down from his ledge. He glanced around him to see the rest of his clan, including the newest members of the clan, also awakening from their sleep, and had to smile at the scene. His clan was happy and most of all, his clan was safe. Nothing could make this moment finer. Well, he thought, there is one thing…

Tonight was Brooklyn, Tachia, Angela and Broadway's turn on patrol, leaving the others to relax for the evening. As they took off into the night sky, Lexington was already walking towards the Great Hall with Eosine to show his love the computers that he spoke so fondly of for all the years they had been mated, while Hudson and Bronx intended to take a walk in the courtyard.

Goliath bid everyone a good evening and walked into the castle purposefully.

He pressed the button on the elevator keypad and waited a few seconds before there was a beep and the elevator doors slid open to allow him entry within.

David Xanatos sat at his mahogany desk, reading some business reports on his computer when there was a knock at his door. Looking up, he realized that the knock hadn't been one that sounded like Owen.

"Yes?"

"It is Goliath. I need to speak with you."

David smiled briefly before saying, "Come on in, Goliath" and rising from his desk to greet his permanent guest.

Goliath walked towards David and stopped right in front of him.

"What can I do for you, Goliath?" David asked, somewhat intrigued. He never came into his office unless something was wrong, but the look on Goliath's face wasn't one of worry—more like indecision…

Goliath sighed and then replied, "I need to ask your advice about a matter that will concern you, as well..."

The rest of the clan went on their patrol. Thankfully, patrol was uneventful, and within a few hours, the entire clan, including Goliath, was back in the castle.

Hudson was seated in his favourite chair, listening to Eosine and Lexington tell him a story of their time back in 1795 England. As the rest of the clan filed into the Great Hall, they became intrigued by the last few parts of the story they heard.

Angela and Broadway sat down beside the mated pair and watched them intently. Angela had to ask her own questions when Eosine had finished her story.

"There is so much we still do not know about you two, Eosine."

"Angela, you may ask us anything you wish! We are clan, family." the rosy-pink female smiled cheerfully, obviously happy that they were taking an interest in their lives.

"Well, I have always been curious about your adventures, and you told us about the night Brook and Lex arrived in England, but I wanted to know about your clan. Why were there only five of you before the boys arrived?"

A sad look appeared on Tachia's face. She released Brooklyn's hand, left his side, and sat beside her sister. Eosine was relieved that Tachia came to her.

"That is a story that is entirely too sad for Eosine to tell herself. I fear that I must tell this story, for it must be told, lest we forget our fallen brethren."

Goliath recognized in Tachia the same look he wore when thinking about his massacred clan. He exhaled and allowed Tachia to entrance them all in her story…

"There was a time when our clan thrived happily in the caverns of England, with no cares in the world, save for finding food for ourselves and our young. When Eosine and I were but mere adolescents, we were a clan of 25, and Horatio was content,  
newly mated, and a wonderful leader. His mate was already heavy with egg, as were the other five mated females. We were nameless back then, except for Horatio, as is the gargoyle tradition. One stormy night, we all stayed in the cave, waiting for the rain to stop, when we heard terrified screams.

"One of my brothers, a rather large blue horned gargoyle, went to see where the cries came from. He was such a good Samaritan…" Tachia stopped her story for a second to regain her composure, cleared her throat, and continued. "He left the cavern to find the source of the cries, as I have said, and when he returned, he carried a small child who was no older than 7 years old. He had lost his way and found himself in the woods. He was cold, hungry and scared to death of us. He had never seen gargoyles to be sure. My brother comforted him and took him to our cave.

"We all stopped what we were doing, and cared for the child in our way, in the way of our Lord. The night passed with us introducing ourselves to him, finding him some meat, helping him to clean up and we gave him shelter for the night. The weather was not fit for man, nor beast, nor gargoyle.

"The morning came, and the clan found the child sleeping beside one of our beasts. He had stayed with us the entire day. We were relieved, and a bit thankful that he hadn't left. We asked him if he knew where his home was, and he did not. He was sad and missed his parents, so we told him we would help him to find his way back home. Before that, however, he decided to name us all, saying that things needed names"

Goliath and Hudson smiled, remembering that those were the exact words Elisa used to justify naming Hudson.

"We were honoured that he gave us the names of his cousins, sisters, brothers, and neighbours. He named my brother who had carried him to us Thomas, like his own father. The next night, we glided to the village in search of his home. We spotted his home, and dropped him there. His parents were not very pleased to see gargoyles returning their son, and chased us away. We were saddened because we had grown close with this child, and some of the younger ones even had delusions of being his friend.  
We left him alone with his parents after that." Tachia nudged her sister to see if she was alright with her version of the story. She was, because she gave her a faint smile, and urged her to go on.

"A few nights later, when some of the clan returned from hunting, we were told that they had seen the boy in the forest with his father and that the boy had smiled and waved. Perhaps, we thought, the child would be an ally to the clan after all. Our spirits were lifted that night, but the next night, Horatio, Elaine, Edwin, Eosine and I awoke to find a small band of humans in the cave with large hammers in their hands, and the rubble remains of the rest of our clan surrounding us. They had found our cave right before sundown, and decided to destroy us for taking the boy days earlier. Horatio charged at them, and pushed them over the edge of the hill, leaving us to examine the remains of our fallen friends and family."

Tachia looked over at Eosine, who had her head bowed and was saying a quick prayer for her brothers and sisters. The clan gasped at hearing the strikingly similar story to their own.

"That is terrible, Tachia."

"Yes, Horatio was a shell of his former self after his beautiful mate, Elise, and their egg were destroyed."

Goliath heard this coincidental name and shuddered to think about if the same were to happen to his precious love. Apparently, the clan heard this and thought the same thing, because most of them watched Goliath in quiet anxiousness.

"He became bitter, petty and mean. Nothing of the leader he once had been. Elaine and Edwin had lost their parents, as well as the rest of their hatchling friends and siblings, and, well, Eosine and I lost everything we held dear."

"How long after this massacre did Brooklyn and Lexington arrive?" Goliath asked carefully.

"We came a few months after this happened." Lexington answered.

"Yea, and when the girls told us about this, it accounted for why Horatio was such an ass to us when we came back to the cave after saving them that night." Brooklyn added. He watched his mate carefully, knowing that this story always brought back sad memories, much like his own massacre story did to him. Her eyes suddenly filled with unshed tears, and she looked up to the clan around her.

"That is why we thank the good Lord every day for Brooklyn and Lexington arriving. Not only did they save us that night from the humans that would see us dead, but they came to save us from our meaningless existence after the devastation of the murders." She smiled, and allowed the tears to fall from her eyes. She usually showed a thick skin about things like this, Brooklyn thought, but this story always makes her appreciate our love. She makes me appreciate everything, too…

He walked over to her and wiped a tear from her smooth green-skinned face. "We thank the heavens everyday too, my love." He commented gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Goliath rose from his seat. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Tachia, Eosine. As you know, we have a very similar story to your own. Everything seems to happen for a purpose, and our destinies have intertwined for a purpose. Your betrayal happened relatively recently when compared to ours, so the only advice I can give you in dealing with it is that it does eventually get less painful to think of. Yes, it is painful nonetheless, but your friends and mates will help you to deal with the pain." Tachia bowed her head in thanks, and Goliath nodded. "I must see Elisa now. I will return soon."

"Yummy, right, baby? Yes," Elisa cooed at her three month old son who was seated in his carrier on one of the kitchen chairs. She held a bottle to his mouth. As he sucked, she smoothed his hair to one side. "My little boy is so handsome." She added, admiring how sweet he looked in a pair of khaki pants and a golf shirt. His black hair seemed to be turning as black as Elisa's hair, which she loved. It made him look like her that much more. His deep set brown eyes were almond-shaped, as Elisa's. His nose, sharp and down turned, on the other hand, was completely unlike a Maza nose. She knew from where it came. Even still, his tanned complexion added to the total package. He really was her son.

When he was all finished, she got up and washed the bottle in the sink and then turned back to her son and held him against her in the typical burping position. She rubbed his back gently and walked back and forth in her kitchen until he finally burped quietly. Elisa felt it.

"Good boy." She laughed, cleaning his face up after the small bit of excess food that was expelled with the burp.

Still holding Adam, Elisa walked over to the large sliding door that led to the balcony and held Adam with his back towards her so that he had a front seat view of the city through the window.

"The city is really pretty at night, Adam. It's too cold for me to take you outside tonight, but we'll go for a nice walk tomorrow afternoon, and I'll show you off to all of my co-workers at the precinct. Would you like that, baby?" She lowered her head slightly and kissed the top of Adam's angelic head. Elisa still hadn't shown her son off at the 23rd house, like most other cops on mat leave did after they had the baby. She walked a few more steps towards the sliding door.

"And maybe tonight, before you go to sleep, our best friend will come to see us" She meant Goliath. "You always like it when Goliath comes to visit, right Adam? You and me both." She smiled. Elisa waited a few more moments at the sliding door before bringing Adam to his room and changing his diaper.

There was a slight knock at the sliding door. When she didn't answer, Goliath let himself in, and closed the door behind him.

"Elisa?"

He heard movement in Adam's room, and he went in.

The door was ajar. He moved it a bit to see Elisa hovering over Adam, just finishing changing his diaper.

"There you go, my angel. All fresh and clean…" Elisa lifted her son in the air above her head and brought him back down, laughing all the while. She then sensed someone standing behind her, and was not afraid. Without turning around, she said, "Hi, Big Guy. Let yourself in, I see?" She giggled and turned to face her lover. He wore a rare smile.

"I am sorry, Elisa, if I startled you."

"Not at all, actually. I was hoping you were coming tonight."

"Good. How is he tonight?"

Adam cooed in Elisa's arms and reached out to touch Goliath's massive talon. Goliath lowered it slightly and Adam took the digit in his small but strong hand. The lavender protector smiled again and looked up at Elisa.

"Excited to see you, I take it. The same goes for me." She grinned mischievously.  
"Want to hold him?"

Goliath nodded. "Of course." He took Adam from his mother and held him comfortably.  
She watched with curiosity as Goliath gazed at the infant.

"Let's go into the living room and sit down for a bit." She said, walking out of the room. Goliath knew the apartment inside and out, and walked behind her without taking eyes off of Adam. They reached the living room, and they sat down. The leather couch made a slight creaking noise under the weight of the gentle giant.

"How was patrol tonight, Goliath?" Elisa asked, wiping Adam's mouth of spittle with a small cloth.

"It was….uneventful." he lied. I cannot tell her that I went to Xanatos to ask for advice…Maybe after...

"Hmm. And how are Tachia and Eosine adjusting? I really should spend some more time with them. I feel like I know nothing about them."

"After tonight's patrol, they told us the story of their clan's betrayal. It seemed as if it was a mimic of my own sad tale." His eyes were flooded with a sadness that Elisa wished instantly she understood fully, and could wipe away. Her small and delicate hand went to his. He took it, and brought it to his lips. He kissed it sweetly and returned his gaze to her beautiful coffee eyes.

"My love, I could not bear to lose you. I do hope you know this."

Eyebrows scrunched in confusion, she said, "Of course I know this. Goliath, I'm not going anywhere. Where is this coming from?" He drew her closer to him and Adam with his protective hand.

"Tachia and Eosine's story struck a chord with me, and I was reminded of how dearly I love you." He couldn't tell her also that he was planning something, and the story had made him realize that time means nothing when you are in love. "Elisa, I…" Just before his thought could be worded, Adam began crying tiredly. Elisa leaned over, took him from Goliath's arms and said, "Adam is tired. Let me put him to bed, and I'll be right back." She kissed Goliath's cheek and went to put her son to bed.

Nearly three minutes went by before Elisa returned. She sat beside Goliath again, and smiled, taking up his large taloned hand in hers. "Go on, babe."

His nerve lost, he smiled, drew her into a gentle hug and said, "I will love you for all of my life."

"Ditto. Nothing will ever change that. My heart is yours." She breathed in his scent, and kissed his lips.

**_October 3, 1997, 2:17pm_**

The newly acquired dark blue Chevy Blazers drove past the afternoon traffic, in search of a certain car…

"Quarrymen, we suspect the traitor is driving along this road." Jon Castaway said into the radio, which broadcast its signal to the other two cars full of Quarrymen.

"When we find her, we will be rid of this traitor to the human race! This will be her last day on earth!" Jon exclaimed maniacally. Robyn looked over at him and shook her head. Her brother's deteriorating sanity worsened with each passing day, and she could do nothing but watch and hope that he would do nothing stupid. Robyn did somewhat agree with the death of Maza, though she did help Jason with his slow and painful recovery. She knew he'd never walk again, but his spirits were recovering well, so she heard. Perhaps when Maza was gone, Robyn could care for her son. Robyn was nearly 30 years old, with no hope of having her own children, so maybe this child could signify for her a new beginning…

That afternoon, after visiting Derek and Maggie in their gorgeous home outside of the city, Elisa put her sleeping son in his carrier securely and began driving home.

In a quieter part of Manhattan, the two toned Ford Fairlane drove the speed limit in the far right lane on a two-lane road. Elisa looked into the rear view mirror and checked her large blind spot in the driver side mirror. Since becoming a mother, she had adapted safer driving practices, such as checking the mirrors, and not cutting other cars off when she drove. These practices were increased when Adam was in the backseat, as he was at this moment.

As she looked into the mirrors, something seemed wrong. Her rear view showed that behind her, there was a dark blue Chevy Blazer. Did they even make them in dark blue? Beside her on the driver side was another Blazer, and, for the first time, she noticed that there was one in front of her as well. Elisa was no idiot; she knew she was being boxed in intentionally.

She turned her head to see who might be going to great lengths to do this, and stared into the covered face of two Quarrymen in the Blazer driving right beside her. The passenger rolled down his window and pulled out a hammer, turning it on.

The electrified noise was loud enough for Elisa to hear it from her car.

_Goddamn it, I have to get out of here._

She went to grab her long-dormant gun in the glove box, but it suddenly seemed miles away, and if she were to lean over and get it, she would have to lose her sight of the road and God only knows what would happen then.

Let's just concentrate on getting out of this in one piece. The guys aren't around to protect us now. It's the middle of the day.

Just then, the Blazer beside her suddenly swerved towards her car, causing her to swerve away, lose control of the car and go off the road. Luckily the area they were speeding through was practically deserted and a park was only a block away. Elisa tried as cautiously as possible to navigate her antique but precious car onto the cement sidewalk without being too bumpy as to wake poor little Adam up in the commotion. Unfortunately, she wasn't cautious enough, for his cries suddenly belted out through the air and out the open window of her car.

"Adam, please baby, stop crying, momma's right here angel," She attempted, reaching a hand back to him while still concentrating on getting them safely out of this predicament. Still, she saw, the Blazers followed. They no longer drove around her,  
but they chased her mercilessly nonetheless. The park was only a few seconds away, she realized with a relieved sigh. She drove into the park, but she felt something rear end her car abruptly and then back away.

She looked into the rear view to see one of the Blazers slamming into the back of her car. Still, Adam's cries persisted. Elisa looked back at her son for a split second before her car slammed head first into a tree. The force of the impact caused the windshield to shatter and Elisa's frame to lurch forward and her head hit the steering wheel stiffly, where she remained motionless. The car was too old to be equipped with air bags.

Adam's terrified cries continued loudly and terribly. The three Blazers came to a screeching halt around the wreckage. The first to exit the car, dressed in the entire Quarryman garb was none other than Jon Castaway, aka, Jon Canmore, and his big sister, Robyn. She walked almost sadly towards the steaming car towards the child crying in the backseat. She leaned over to look inside, and opened the passenger side door, pulled the seat forward and unbuckled the crying child's seatbelts. She scooped him up into her arms, and this seemed to calm him. His cries diminished. She pressed the baby to her chest.

"Shhh, little one. Everythin' is alright now, dear boy." She said, rocking him back and forth slightly. She looked up at Jon (not that she could tell by face, since he had his mask on, but his smaller frame and the hammer he carried was definitely Jon's). He walked over to the wreckage to view the damage he had caused. She knew that behind this mask, he was smiling sickly. He really does need help, she thought. Jon's hammer was fully electrified, and ready to smash something or someone. He leaned into the car to see Elisa unconscious upon the steering wheel, and a large bump was already forming upon her usually immaculate forehead. Her ebony hair formed a veil around her shoulders. Jon looked up at his sister, and pulled off his mask.

"Sister, dear, hand that brat to me. Let me eliminate him before finishing off his betrayer of a mother."

"What! Jon, we discussed this, and you agreed that the boy was not to be harmed at all. He is innocent in all this. Have ya gone mad!" She asked angrily in her Scottish brogue. Perhaps she shouldn't have actually said 'mad'…

Jon's eyes glistened with crazed anger.

"Mad, am I, Robyn? This child is meaningless. If he is allowed to live, what will me followers think? They will believe me pitiful towards traitors to the human race. I canna do that! Hand him over!"

Adam had begun to cry again, frightened cries echoing into the air. Robyn had tears in her eyes now. They were tears for her brother's sanity. Her brother had gone absolutely over the deep end. What would Jason think of him now? And what would he think of her for helping Jon in this endeavor? She just couldn't allow this.

"No, Jon! You need help! You canna do what yuir thinking. This is just wrong, no matter who his mother is!" Jon took another menacing step towards her, the evil in his eyes intensifying. He raised the electrified hammer close to her face. He stared at his sister with something similar to disbelief and rage.

"This is yuir last chance, Robyn. Give up the boy, or you shall join them as traitors to our cause." He threatened in almost a whisper. She gasped at the threat, disbelieving that he would actually do this.

As this scene unfolded, the other Quarrymen who were in the Blazers piled out and gathered around them to witness the sibling squabble turn into a deadly confrontation. Some gasped as Jon uttered this threat to his sister, while others were too appalled to make a sound at the fear that he would turn on them next. Two Quarrymen even took off their hoods, threw them on the floor and ran off in disgust.

This issue had ceased being about gargoyles for them.

The eight that remained watched the confrontation and shook their heads at Jon.

"There aren't any gargoyles even here….The boy could just come home with one of us and he'd never know his past…Jon's taking this too far." The whispers among the crowd came rushing to Jon's ears. He shot a vengeful look at his Quarrymen. He was losing them, he knew.

"What is this? Dissention in the ranks, is it? Traitors the whole lot of ya!" He suddenly aimed the hammer at the entire crowd of his followers. "I don't need any of ya to destroy the gargoyles, then!"

Ray, Robyn's Quarryman friend, was the one to step forward, take off his mask and confront Jon.

"Sir, there are none here. Let us destroy Maza and leave. We can take the child away from here, and he'd never know about the gargoyles or remember his mother."

"I will do what I feel is necessary, and this is necessary fer our cause! Out of me way!" He recharged his hammer, and was about to let it fall when the sound of a Beretta's hammer clicking startled them all. They turned to see a shaky Elisa Maza holding her gun, aiming it directly at Jon's head, and holding her badge. She leaned against the damaged car for support.

"Just because I'm on mat leave doesn't mean I'm not still a cop. You are under arrest, Jon, for attempted murder. Put the hammer down. Robyn, take my son over there," She motioned to a grassy spot under a tree about a hundred feet away from the scene. She conceded and began walking to the spot. Jon's eyes narrowed on Elisa's gun.

"You treacherous bitch, My Quarrymen are strong and follow only me. Without me, they are nothing."

Elisa allowed a condescending laugh to escape her lips. "You're full of shit, Jon. Look around you. They have left you. You're one sick bastard and they know it. They are all gone."

They had indeed deserted him. Around them, the grassy ground was riddled with abandoned Quarryman hoods. Jon cursed under his breath, looked at Elisa's gun, thought for a split second, and then took off running into the park.

Elisa tried to follow, but couldn't, as she nearly tripped on her shaky feet. Her head still hurt and her balance still had to be regained from her encounter with her steering wheel. Leaning a hand against the mangled hood of her beloved Fairlane, she took a deep breath of relief to see Robyn returning with Adam. His outstretched arms towards his mother made Elisa smile. She accepted her son from Robyn wordlessly, and hugged him protectively to her chest. Realizing that Robyn was still there, Elisa glared at her.

"You are also under arrest, Robyn. I can't let you go, you know. You're an accomplice."

She bowed her head in acceptance. "Yes, that I am."

The next few hours were a blur to Elisa. She had her precious car towed to the mechanics, arrested any Quarrymen they found wandering around, including Robyn, and put out an APB for Jon Canmore, aka Jon Castaway. Elisa decided she and Adam were going in the ambulance that came with the police. Her head still throbbed, and she knew she was lucky not to have another concussion. Just to be sure, she accepted the ride to the hospital…

**_…October 4, 9:13am, In New York State Maximum Security Prison…_**

The guard that brought the daily meal to each of the inmates who were in isolation made his rounds for the morning, rolling a service cart through the aisles and dropping the appropriate meals to the prisoners. He stopped at his first prisoner's door, rapped once, and held up the meal to the prisoner's waiting hands through a slit in the thick steel door.

"Thanks, ya fuckin' pig! HEY! Where's the chicken cordon bleu I ordered?" The prisoner shouted sardonically.

"Shut it, loser." The guard was accustomed to these usual taunts, so he continued on his rounds.

After 5 more taunts, he reached inmate D. Dracon's cell, looked on his clipboard to see what the chef had assigned for the elderly man today. "Hmm. I guess money does make the world go round…salmon and rice." He searched for the meal, located it on the lower shelf of the cart and rose to knock on the door. He knocked once, but the inmate did not extend his hand to accept the plate as he did every morning. He knocked again, annoyed.

"Dracon, your food is here." Nothing. "Dracon! Get your food or you ain't eatin' today!" Still nothing. He peered into the slit through the door, and saw Dominic Dracon lying on his bed, asleep. The regular prison uniform was fitted extremely loosely on the old man, and accentuated his frail and fragile frame. The guard dropped the plate on the cart, irritated, and pulled out his keys to open the cell. As he opened the cell door, he grabbed his gun in the other hand and walked carefully towards Dominic. "Dracon!" He shouted, expecting the old man to awake with a start as he had done a few times before. That was partially the reason he was in his own private cell; he was getting too old to do the regular prisoner things…

The guard got closer, and shouted Dominic's name again to no avail. He then checked his pulse on his wrinkly and liver-spotted neck. His eyes widened in shock. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and pressed the button.

"Hey, George, send the doctor into D. Dracon's room. He's dead."

* * *

Return to Top 


	8. Chapter 8: Revenge

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza, Tachia and Eosine. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney.  
As always, please don't sue me. Pretty Please?_

**Author's Note**:_ I continue to thank my wonderful fans for reading, and emailing me. Also, I thank Ingram, Phoenix and Andrea for their help with this one, and encouraging me to continue! You three are awesome! Sorry this episode took so long! I'm planning my sister-in-law's bridal shower, and that's sucking the very essence out of me!  
Anywhoo, enjoy and feel free to email me with any comments about this ep! R&R please!_

**SIDE NOTE:** **how about that GARGOYLES comic, eh? WOW! When's the next one out! I'm dying to read it!  
**

ok...onto the story!

**_8--Revenge_**

**_SEASON FINALE: _**

Synopsis: Goliath concocts a plan to surprise Elisa, Demona receives the book that will spell the end of our favourite detective, and Thailog kills two birds with one very explosive stone, or does he?

October began and with it came a cold autumn breeze that chilled right down to the bone. The leaves on the trees were sparser than ever, and had already turned their most vibrant colours weeks ago. Along the streets, there were piles of dead-looking brown leaves, dirty with the street grime, making the night look that much more void of life. There was one consolation to this sense of entropy, though: The sun set sooner every night, giving our favourite detective and her son even more time with her champions, her best friends, her clan.

**_Monday, October 25th, 1997, 7:01am_**

Demona looked out onto the city from her office on the 8th floor of the Nightstone Unlimited building with a smile. Demona was pleased greatly. Not only were the days shortening considerably, lessening her time in this wretchedly weak human body, but she was expecting a special delivery in a few days. She would have gone to get the package herself, but meetings and important clients came first. She had to maintain her grasp on the business world in order to be able to fund her schemes in the future. Besides, she was getting used to the lavish lifestyle of Dominique Destine, and didn't want to threaten that at all. Maza would die at Thailog's hands, that she was sure of, but it would have to wait until the book came to her.

**_Tuesday, October 26, 1997, 2:48pm_**

"Ms. Destine?"

Dominique looked up from her reports in annoyance. "Yes, what is it?"

"A courier has brought a package marked with an ankh on it. Would you like him to bring it in?"

Dominique instantly smiled an evil grin. "Send him in."

Finally, the book to help me rid myself of Maza is here. Soon, Goliath, very soon...

"Where do you want this box, Ma'am?" The portly courier said, wheeling a trolley into Dominique's office. Dominique rose from her seat, pushed the papers on her desk into a folder, placed the folder in a drawer and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"On my desk, here."

The employee stopped the trolley, lifted the rather large box from it and placed it carefully upon the desk. He then proceeded to open the box for the delicate-looking Dominique, but her hand flew to the top flap of the box.

"Do it, and die where you stand." She threatened, her eyes flickering with anger and rage suddenly. The poor courier backed away from the box, raised his hands, and said,  
"Sorry, sorry." He then nearly ran out of the office, leaving the trolley behind, and forgetting to close the door behind him.

"Fool," said Demona as she ripped the box open with her seemingly delicate human female hands. "The sheer magic in this book would have literally killed him on the spot..."

Once the box was rendered to shreds, Demona laid eyes on the book that would help her realize her fondest desire in over a thousand years: Maza's painful death.

The book, nearly 2 feet long and 2 inches wide, was weathered and extremely old looking. Its tanned pages were worn by what appeared to be water damage, and Demona had to be careful in turning them. As she tediously did so, her smile grew wider and wider. She read only a few titles of spells, all written in Latin, and then burst out laughing maniacally.

**_October 30, 1997_**

After close to a month without her beloved Ford Fairlane, due to extensive damage sustained during her run-in with the remnants of the Quarrymen, Elisa picked up her car from her mechanic that afternoon. She did a walk around it before actually getting in, just to make sure all was well with her trademark car. The mechanic,  
whom she frequented more often since being friends with the gargoyles, had given her a perplexed look, as if he said, 'what, you don't trust me now?' with his silent eyes. Elisa smiled and accepted the keys to her Fairlane without any further thought to the intensive work that had been done on her mode of transportation. She was quite pleased with the work done, in fact, though it was mainly aesthetic. Her good old car still ran like a dream, and now even had a fresh coat of paint on her,  
too.

Now, she thought, time to pick Adam up from mom and dad's and go see the guys.

----

A few minutes before sunset, Elisa Maza walked into the Eyrie building holding the handle of her son's carrier. She greeted the guard politely and walked past him towards the elevator. She was just in time to greet her friends after they had awakened from their slumber. They were all congregated in the Great Hall, preparing to patrol for the night and greeted Elisa and the child as soon as the door opened.

The clan seemed to be more excited than ever. Well, who could blame them? They were always excited when All Hallows Eve came around. It was only a day away, and it was the first Halloween the clan was spending back in their ancestral home. They relished every second of planning and preparation for the upcoming event, and were extra rowdy this night.

"Hey guys, you seem boisterous tonight. Planned out what you're doing tomorrow yet"  
Elisa questioned none of them in particular. Brooklyn and Tachia were the first to react to the question.

"Tachia and I were thinking of just taking a stroll down to Times' Square."

"Yes," Tachia added, "For as long as I've known Brooklyn, he's always told me wonderful things about how Halloween is celebrated with the clan, but I think we want to spend our first Manhattan All Hallows Eve together seeing the sights that we normally couldn't experience in the sky." Elisa could understand that. Her thoughts brought her instantly to her first Halloween with Goliath, and the night they strolled down the city street arm in arm, warm with underlying affection for one another. That night, they had danced under the stars. Elisa remembered feeling euphoric, as if the asphalt beneath them was replaced with air, and as they danced, their bodies rose higher and higher, into the heavens. Their waltz was entirely too short in Elisa's opinion, but no matter, she thought. We'll have plenty of time for dancing.

"I understand, you two. What about the rest of you? Any plans to join the block party this year?"

Lexington shook his head. "The same goes for Eos and me." Broadway smiled. "Angela and I were thinking of just taking a flight. It's our first Halloween since being mated." Elisa raised a hand in understanding, and to let him know an explanation wasn't needed.

"I get it, guys, and I'm really happy for you all. I just wish I knew what I was going to do tomorrow night…"

"You don't know?" Angela asked curiously.

"Nope. Goliath won't tell me. All I know is that it's something romantic. It usually is when he's this secretive." She sighed contentedly. "Either way, it's going to be memorable to say the least." Elisa paused slightly, turning to look around for her lavender lover. "Um, by the way, where is he?"

---

David Xanatos' Office, 25th floor of the Eyrie Building

"She will absolutely love it, Goliath. You made the right choice by far." David Xanatos confirmed, closing a small velvet box in his hand and placing it upon his large mahogany desk, for the approval of Goliath's attentive eyes. Goliath, standing in front of the desk, peered down at the box, his mind racing with wonderful thoughts. He displayed his rare grin and looked back up at David.

"I hope I have. Thank you for your help in this, and for agreeing to it. I wanted to make our Halloween one she won't soon forget."

David sat back down in his leather arm chair and steepled his hands before him, smiling all the while. "I'm sure she won't, and please, Goliath, think nothing of it. This is, after all, more your home than mine. I merely paid for the stones, but you and your clan have staked your claim to the castle a thousand years ago. Now, I was informed just before you came in that she is here. Not to worry, Goliath—everything will be as you requested tomorrow night." David added genuinely, motioning towards the door. His subdued smirk on his face showed just how excited he was for Goliath's plans.

Goliath thanked David once again before exiting his office and walking towards the Great Hall.

---

Elisa sat with Adam in her arms, rocking him gently as Hudson and Bronx sat in their usual spots—the former in his comfortable recliner, and the later stretched out before his feet. Goliath entered the Great Hall to see this wonderful and peaceful scene, and couldn't help but smile to himself.

"My love," Goliath called from behind the sofa. "How are you?" Elisa instantly rose from her position, still holding onto her infant son, to greet her love.

"Good, Big Guy. You? How did you sleep?"

Goliath's attention went to Adam. He extended a talon to him, and the eager 3 month old child took it curiously, immediately trying to send it to his open mouth.

"Soundly. My love, is it possible that we can discuss our plans for tomorrow outside?"

Elisa nodded. "Sure, babe. Let me hand Adam over to his second grandfather," She said, walking over to Hudson. "Would you mind…" she began, but Hudson silenced her by accepting the small child into his nurturing arms. "'Tis nothing, lass. It will be a pleasure to care for wee Adam." Adam didn't seem to mind being in Hudson's experienced arms, because he began staring at his beard, and attempting to pull at it. The three laughed, and Elisa and Goliath left Hudson alone with Adam while they walked out towards the courtyard.

Once there, the two became immersed in one another, wrapped up in a strong and loving embrace. At length, they released one another and smiled.

"So, Goliath, what do you have planned for us tomorrow?" Elisa pried, though she had the feeling that he wasn't going to reveal too much. He shook his mighty head almost playfully.

"No, my love, you will have to wait and see. But I can tell you this: I will come to your apartment to pick you and Adam up an hour after sunset."

Befuddled, Elisa asked, "Why so long after sunset?"

"It is my night of patrol, and I feel that I should not be forgoing my responsibilities because of my personal needs." He lied. He wanted to ensure everything was up to his standards here before going to get the guest of honour,  
that's all.

"Always the great leader, aren't you, my angel?" She asked rhetorically, taking his hand into her own. She wasn't asking him—she was really telling him that. He never skimped out of his responsibilities or his obligations, no matter how easy it could have been to. This was one of the most wonderful things about him, and she could always count on him to put his clan first, before all else. It wasn't a bad thing that his clan came before her in this case, because it was a small thing. After all,  
it was only Halloween…

"I apologize, my Elisa, that I must go on patrol but—"

His apology was quieted by two full lips attaching themselves onto his. It was effective, because the next sound that could be heard was the sound of an airplane's engine flying high overhead. The couple below was otherwise occupied with each other.

Behind one of the battlements, red eyes glowed vivaciously. Thailog now knew exactly when to strike against his father's whore tomorrow night, and with perfect timing to make sure his father would be there as well. Killing two birds with one very large and explosive stone…

**_October 31, 1997_**

Dominique Destine had been sequestered in her office all day, with strict instructions for her secretary not to bother her for ANY reason. She spent nearly all day perfecting her Latin pronunciation of the spell that would bind the victim in place using the rope she already had in her possession. The spell was slightly tricky, and required that all the words be pronounced in the correct manner, otherwise the spell would be rendered useless, along with the ligature. At around 2pm, Dominique finally had the pronunciation down pat. She left work soon afterwards, with the Cryptatae Magnus and made her chauffeur speed her home. The ligature spell must be done while the pronunciation was still fresh on my mind's tongue, she thought.

Sure enough, when she returned home, with only about a half hour to spare before sunset, she dashed into her office, where she kept the rope and threw it upon the desk. She pulled the Cryptatae Magnus out from a large bag she had carried, and placed it gingerly upon the floor. She fell to her knees, and began flipping quickly through the book until she reached the correct spell.

"Excellent," she murmured. "Here it is." She raised a still-human hand, and began chanting in perfect Latin.

"is somes mos tantum exsisto privatus per nex , nex must adveho in volatilis pennae si solvo est, involare, magnus argentia, capernium faetea, vita exto."

The rope began to glow, float in mid air, and within another moment, it had fallen back down upon the desk. It glowed with an eerie iridescent blue aura. Dominique regarded the rope for a few more seconds until the blue aura disappeared from around it. The spell had worked flawlessly, and much to her satisfaction. Not only would the enchanted rope keep the whore from leaving the vicinity of the bomb, but it might even cause her pain before the bomb even goes off; she read a brief passage that explained that the more one struggled against the ligature, the tighter it grew.  
Dominique beamed at this little bit of information. Knowing that Maza would no doubt struggle against her bindings, Dominique's excitement grew. Now, the real test was later that evening. She reread the spell a few times quietly and waited in her office until the sun set. She had to tell Thailog the wonderful news and show him the enchanted rope before he went out to kill Elisa Maza for her.

Dominique changed into Demona loudly at sunset, and Thailog awoke from stone sleep a few seconds afterwards. He walked over to Demona and flashed a twisted smile at her.

"I can see in your face that you are excited about something. Whatever could that be, Demona?" He asked jokingly. She grinned, and took the bewitched rope into her hands to show it to Thailog.

"The spell has worked, and this binding is ready to be used."

Thailog took the rope from Demona's hands and examined it momentarily before laying it upon the desk again.

"Good work. I sense the magic on it." He looked at the clock upon the wall. "I should be going soon. Where will you be during all of this?"

"Watching from a distance. If any of the clan members see me, all will be lost,  
since they will automatically accuse me planting the bomb. They accuse me of everything that ever goes wrong in this city!"

Thailog nodded. "Wouldn't they be correct this time?" He laughed.

"Yes, but they won't be given the opportunity to even speculate that fact, since I have an alibi. I have purchased a plane ticket, scheduled for Switzerland. The plane leaves in five minutes. Dominique Destine has a board meeting tomorrow morning there,  
and voila. My alibi is sound."

"But how…?"

"My personal assistant has gone in my place." Dominique laughed at her own ingenuity. "This will work flawlessly, Thailog. And we both get what we want."

Thailog agreed, took the rope in his hands, and unfurled his wings to catch the current of wind to take him to Elisa's apartment. He internally laughed at Demona's last comment, and the irony of it. She had no idea how wrong she was. True, she would get her hated detective killed, but her precious Goliath would also be destroyed in the process. Thailog would be the true winner in this situation, not Demona. He chuckled darkly and continued his approach to Elisa's apartment.

---

Elisa lay upon her queen sized bed peacefully sleeping with the comforter snuggly under her chin. The heater had been on for half an hour straight because of the chill of the late October winds, but it still wasn't enough to warm her body. She was just taking a short nap, and was planning on waking well before sunset to get ready for her evening with Goliath, but since Adam was not fussing, and sleep seemed to call to her, she slept for nearly three hours instead of the intended half an hour. She was awoken shortly after sunset by a wonderful voice calling to her. Still in and out of sleep, she called to it.

"Goliath?"

"Yes, my love. It is I." The soft and gentle baritone spoke to her from the left side of her bed. Elisa was turned away from the window, the left side of the room, so she turned her body to face her lover. With her eyes still closed, and still partially in the realm of dreamers, she felt rough hands holding her own, raising them above her head towards the headboard of the bed. Rough hands? She was roused from her sleep when a strange smell violated her nostrils. This wasn't Goliath…

Opening her eyes immediately, she saw, even in the dark, the nightmarish red eyes of Thailog staring horribly back at her. He began chuckling as he saw the fear set into Elisa's face. Her hands were already in his grasp, but he was able to hold onto them both with one hand while he pulled out a ligature of some kind and began tying her hands together to the headboard. She struggled fiercely, but the more she struggled against whatever it was that was tied on her wrists, it seemed, the more it constricted against her, causing her wrists to become bruised almost instantly.

"My dear Detective Maza," Thailog began. "So nice to see you again."

"Spare me, psycho. What the hell do you want?" Elisa spat at Thailog, still struggling against being tied down. Thailog lowered his face within an inch of hers, forcing her to look into his hate-filled eyes. "It's very simple actually. Your death. Oh, and that of my father, of course."

"How did you know where I lived?" Elisa had to ask, perhaps stalling him.

"I was told by one of my business associates. She is really quite thorough."

"She?" Elisa asked aloud, though she knew Thailog would not answer her. He then bent down to a bag he had brought with him and pulled out what looked like an alarm clock with wires running this way and that way out of it. He shined it a bit before placing the clock-like item near by the nightstand just beside the bed. He then did a variety of things that even Elisa wasn't too sure of. He connected wires and cables, wrapped things around the clock, and then whipped out what Elisa was sure of was plastic explosives. He molded the substance slightly before covering the clock with it, and then pressing a button on the top of the clock. Elisa knew immediately that it was a makeshift bomb, crudely built and poorly designed, from what she saw.  
Regardless, she wasn't about to take a chance in pretending that Thailog hadn't done his homework.

"See that, detective?" He pointed to the bomb, which began ticking loudly. He looked down at the bomb, and then to a wrist watch he had worn that night purposely so that he'd know when to get the hell out of the vicinity of Elisa's apartment. "That sound you hear is your life ticking away. According to the clock, you have precisely 10 minutes to live."

"You dumb shit. Goliath and the others will come for me, and they'll throw that bomb in the Hudson River before it goes off." She said bravely.

Thailog unexpectedly burst out laughing, a sort of deep, maniacal chuckle that dripped of confidence and arrogance. Somehow, Elisa knew this situation wouldn't get better simply by throwing the bomb out the window. Her fears were confirmed only moments later, when Thailog's fit of laughter finally subsided. He walked back over to the bomb, and pointed one evil talon at it.

"If they were to even touch this bomb, it would go off instantly. I wouldn't care either way what you and your beloved clan does, as long as you perish along with them." The tone in his voice made Elisa shiver.

---

"Goliath, you going to pick Elisa up now?" Brooklyn asked his leader as they soared closer to Elisa's apartment.

"Yes, I am. I hope she enjoys what I have planned for her, and what I am planning to ask her."

"Goliath, I am sure she will accept your offer. I can tell that she would do anything for you." Tachia replied. She glided hand in hand with her mate, Brooklyn,  
on their way to Times' Square.

"This is true, Tachia. I just hope that she will do this." Just then, a loud scream was heard coming in the direction of Elisa's apartment. The three gargoyles regarded each other for a split second before silently agreeing to investigate it together.  
The scream had come from Elisa's apartment.

---

Could this really be it? Is there no way out of this? Elisa had to try getting some information out of Thailog, one way or another. Who was his 'associate', and why did she want Elisa dead? She immediately thought of Demona.

"Demona is behind this, isn't she!" Elisa yelled out at Thailog, her torso raising from the bed with the force of her rage.

"Demona? Well—" Before he could reply, the terrified screams of an infant child rang through the air. Elisa's eyes widened with horror for her son's safety. Thailog's attention was promptly sent in the direction of the cries, coming from the next room. Sinisterly, he smiled and said, "I'll be back…" and stalked out of the room.  
Elisa began struggling against her restraints furiously, twisting and pulling and yanking to no avail. Who knows what Thailog will do to my son, she thought desperately to herself.

"THAILOG! THAILOG! PLEASE don't hurt him!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping to appeal to the side of him that was somehow related to Goliath. God only knew what her son was about to go through, and Elisa knew she was absolutely helpless to stop it. Her wrists were cut by now, and small pools of blood were forming just below them on her pillow. Until now, Elisa had been slightly calm, but when Thailog flashed her that awful smile, all her safeguards were dematerialized and her emotions came spilling forth at the real possibility of losing her son this night, let alone her own life along with his. The tears sprang forth from her eyes like torrents of rain as the moments with her son flashed before her eyes. The first time she held him, the first time she bathed him, the day she took him home from Xanatos' medical ward, the first time she and Adam were embraced by Goliath…

"Goliath…" She whispered, knowing that he was scheduled to come pick her up any second now. The tears began clouding her vision to the point where she didn't recognize the dark figure coming into the room again, carrying something in his rough hands. The cries of her son were suddenly amplified; Thailog had brought Adam into the room with him, and was holding him coarsely—upside down by the legs, like the catch of the day. Had Elisa been a gargoyle, her eyes would have been blazing fiery red at that point as she stared up at this demon that held her son on the threshold of death.

"I had nearly forgotten about this little brat!" He taunted.

"Thailog, put my son down, PLEASE! Oh, God, PLEASE don't hurt him!" Elisa cried out miserably. Thailog's reply to these pleas was to look at the boy in his large hands,  
smirk, and look at Elisa questioningly.

"Why? If I kill this bastard child, Goliath will suffer just as much as you. I've seen the way you all play the role of the little family. It's quite sickening actually." Just then, he let go of one of the boy's legs, causing the frightened child's cries to double in magnitude. Elisa's heart broke with every sob that came from her only child. The only thing she could do was try to comfort her son with her voice.

"Adam, honey. Shhh, momma's here, baby…" She said in a shaky voice. She then looked up at Thailog with hatred boiling in her beautiful eyes. "Don't be stupid, Thailog. Make no mistake, Goliath hates this child," She lied. His curiosity piqued, Thailog raised an eyebrow and bid her continue with the look in his eyes. "Think about it! That baby is proof of my…infidelity, and our differences. Plus, that boy is the son of one of his greatest enemies," She continued, praying to God that Thailog would accept her story. "He tries, I know, but deep inside, I can see that he hates this child! If my son were to die, Goliath wouldn't be very broken up about it." Elisa could envision the thoughts racing through Thailog's sick head, and saw a change in his eyes—understanding, perhaps. He had bought Elisa's lie. He looked down once more at the small baby in his hand, and roughly dropped the child at the foot of Elisa's bed.

"You make an interesting point, detective. However, that won't save him or you. The bomb will be going off in close to 7 minutes, and he won't be spared," Thailog leaned over Elisa's face. His breath smelled rancid and evoked Elisa's gag reflex a few times.

"It will be quite a shame when you are dead, my dear, since you are simply divine to look at, but my associate wants you dead, and far be it for me to go against her greatest desire."

Elisa was convinced that it was Demona who was pulling his strings, which made no sense. What was in it for him? Didn't they hate each other? And since when does Thailog take orders from anyone? Before any of these questions could have answers attached to them, Goliath flew through the window with a loud crash, and tackled Thailog in the process. Thailog was thrown across the room, to the right side of Elisa's bed. Right behind him, Brooklyn and Tachia glided through the already-smashed window into Elisa's room. Before they could even ask what was going on, Elisa shouted, "We have to act fast! Tachia, get a knife or something from the kitchen to cut me free! Brook, please take Adam out of here. Get as far away as you can!"

"But—"

"Just do it, for God's sake, Brook! Please!" Elisa cried, as Tachia ran to the kitchen to find a cutting utensil.

---

"What are you doing here, Thailog?" Goliath roared, as he punched Thailog hard in the chest, causing him to stumble towards the farthest wall of Elisa's bedroom.  
Thailog regained his balance, and stepped towards Goliath.

"I am going to destroy your little plaything over there." He pointed to the bed, where Elisa was still trying to struggle against the bindings unsuccessfully. "Catch me if you can, father!" Thailog suddenly darted out of Goliath's grasp and flew through the window, narrowly avoiding Brooklyn carrying Adam out of harms way. Goliath followed, spread his wings and attempted to catch up to Thailog.

Thailog's diabolical plan now was to kill as much time as possible before letting Goliath know that he had planted a bomb in the apartment. If Goliath had enough time to think about it, surely he'd realize that he'd just have to pull the bed out of the apartment to save her pathetic life. Also, if he only gave them a few seconds to say their goodbyes, Goliath would forget all about running away, and either attempt to save her by sacrificing himself, or trying to dismantle the bomb, which would cause the bomb to explode awesomely. The latter was the optimal outcome for Thailog, though the former would also suffice quite nicely.

Thailog soared through the air, now already a mile away from the apartment. He was then weighed down by Goliath hitting him in mid-air with a hard left jab to the back of the head. Thailog was slightly stunned by the punch, but regained his resolve and followed with a swift swing of his tail to Goliath's right wing, causing him to spiral downward momentarily.

"I've had enough of these games! You will never succeed in your endeavours! Give up now, and join our clan, YOUR clan! Perhaps we can make a fresh start, and be family,  
as it should have been in the beginning." Goliath yelled, avoiding punch after punch.

"That time has passed, father. I now seek revenge on you all, starting with your precious human love. It makes me sick to think that someone that I share DNA with actually MATES with a human! Absurd and disgusting, really!" Thailog taunted,  
gliding farther away from Goliath, and making him chase him even further away from Elisa's apartment.

"What disgusts me, Thailog, is your lack of compassion for other living beings, let alone one of your clanmates. You have not been taught what it means to be a true gargoyle."

"CLAN? A human! Not a chance, traitor! And you, father, are the one who has no idea how to be a true gargoyle." Thailog looked down at his wrist watch. The bomb would explode in about three minutes. He had to tell Goliath about the bomb NOW.

"Anyway, I'd love to stay and watch the fireworks, but I must be going now. Tell Maza I did enjoy our brief interlude earlier, and that I'll always remember her." Goliath glared at Thailog silently for a split second before retorting.

"What on earth do you mean?"

"I mean, dear father, that there is a bomb in the detective's apartment that is set to explode in three minutes. If you go, you may still be able to save her…or can you?" Thailog goaded, soaring off into the night. He turned his head a bit to watch as Goliath dashed towards the direction of Elisa's apartment to see what could be done about the bomb. Thailog snickered loudly as he glided away to a safe spot to,  
in fact, watch the fireworks.

---

When Goliath arrived back at Elisa's apartment, he saw Tachia trying to pry Elisa's now battered wrists out of the bindings, and Elisa crying out in pain every few seconds. Goliath nearly ran over to Elisa, his face full of concern and horror for his beloved.

"Let me try, Tachia." He stated, beginning to take the knife in Tachia's hand. The green skinned gargoyle was beginning to cry as she had begun to realize that there was no way of her helping her new friend out of the bindings. She rose from her kneeling position and walked over to the bomb.

"Perhaps Lexington can dismantle this mechanical device and—"

"NO!" Elisa cried, shocking both gargoyles into silence. "If any of you were to even try to dismantle it or move it, Thailog told me it will explode." Elisa yelled. Just saying those words caused a chill to creep down her own back. Those were the words confirming her own demise.

Goliath continued to press and pull against her bindings, but it only caused Elisa pain. He looked back at the bomb to see how much time he had to get her out, but it ticked away the 2 minute mark, and Goliath panicked. Elisa, at this point, had already come to grips with her inevitable fate, and had a calm but sad look in her eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes, only to be shed when Goliath spoke next.

"Tachia, I order you to get out of here." Goliath commanded, turning to his charge.

"But…"

"Tachia, please go. Get to safety." Elisa added. Tachia nodded, wiped away a tear from her hazel eye with a green talon and unfurled her wings. She stepped upon the window ledge, looked back once more and then departed. Goliath looked down at his love.

"Elisa, we must find a way to release you from these bindings!" Goliath commented hastily, his hands going to the binding around Elisa's wrists again. Sadly, she shook her head.

"There's no time, Goliath. Get out of here. The bomb will be going off in less than two minutes. There isn't enough time to tell you everything I want to say…" She allowed the tears to flow again even more freely than before.

Goliath dropped to his knees before her and attempted to pry the bindings off of her hands once more. Elisa yelped out in pain as the ligature grew tighter upon her already bloody wrists, and Goliath stopped what he was doing instantly. He looked down at her face, streaked with tears. This angel, sent to him by all the forces in heaven and earth, lay before him, accepting her fate. Her eyes said it all to him.

At that moment, after realizing that Elisa had given up, Goliath began to cry. There were no sobs, or sniffles. Silent tears ran down his lavender skin, and his mighty heart broke for its owner. Elisa shook her head when she understood that there were precious few seconds before the bomb would explode.

"Goliath, tell my parents, Derek and Beth that I love them,"

"Elisa," Goliath whispered, almost in protest to receiving her final wishes.

"And please tell Adam that his mother loved him beyond belief,"

"My love," Goliath pleaded even more faintly this time, and his voice full of emotion.

"But most of all, my beloved," Elisa sobbed now, letting it all out. She looked deeply into her guardian angel's eyes and continued. "Please remember that I love you, and that you and I are kindred spirits, soul mates. You made my world complete." She concluded, her voice finally breaking.

"You are my world, Elisa." Goliath whispered, reaching for her and embracing her in a strong hug followed by a passionate kiss. Only a few moments passed before Elisa pushed him away using her feet.

"You **HAVE TO** get out of here now, my love. The bomb is going to go any second. GO!"

Goliath stumbled back, dumbfounded. "But,"

"I love you. Remember that. **GO NOW**!" Elisa cried out desperately. There were just under ten seconds left on the clock. She prepared herself to watch as Goliath turned to leave. He suddenly changed his mind, and threw himself on top of Elisa's tied down frame.

In complete shock, Elisa gasped. She was about to ask what the hell had gotten into Goliath, when his sweet lips covered hers, and his majestic wingspan covered her form entirely, protecting her from the impending blast.

Before she even had a chance to say or do anything, it felt as if her apartment had been thrown in the middle of an earthquake. Her ears were temporarily deafened from the sound of the blast and everything went dark.

----

From a neighbouring rooftop, Demona and Thailog watched as the seconds ticked away, only Thailog was completely relaxed and enjoyed every second, while Demona was panicking terribly. Goliath still hadn't left the apartment.

"What could be taking so long? Goliath! Leave that whore to her fate!" Demona said quietly, hoping that Thailog had not heard. He had, in fact heard, and smiled at her words. He looked down at the wrist watch again.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1...boom." He said quietly, and then there was a terribly noisy explosion.

"Goliath!" Demona cried, while Thailog chuckled to himself.

---

Moments later, once her hearing had been restored, Elisa opened her eyes slowly,  
feeling something incredibly heavy weighing upon her.

She wanted to lift this mass from her body, but she could not because her hands were still tied—or were they? She pulled her now-freed hands down towards the heavy mass upon her, but instantly remembered that Goliath had jumped on top of her to shield her from the bomb's deadly blast. It had worked after all! She was alive and well,  
and so was Goliath.

She shook him a bit and called his name. "Goliath, my love? Come on, snap out of it, babe. We're ok, and…" She shook him a bit harder this time. "Goliath, wake up." His eyes remained closed. He never weighed this much before, she thought, even during the times we made love…

"Goliath!" She cried out louder than before, shaking the body that lay on her out of necessity and out of terror for Goliath's life. Common sense took over for a split second, and she reached to his neck and felt for a pulse, however alien it was to her own human pulse. Any sign of life would have given Elisa the sheer strength to pull Goliath off of her, but none came.

There was a coldness to his skin.

No pulse, no warmth, save for the tips of his wings that had been the closest to the blast.

"No!" Elisa screamed, still shaking the still form over her. Just then, there were talons pulling the body off of Elisa. Hudson, Broadway and Eosine had been told by Brooklyn that Elisa and Goliath were at Elisa's apartment, and that there was a bomb, but they came too late.

"Goliath! Wake up, Goliath!" Broadway said, slapping Goliath's chest with an open palm.

"Yes, lad, come to. We need ya." Hudson chimed in. A moment later, Angela, Tachia and Lexington approached the still body. Angela kneeled down to her father and put a graceful hand over his heart, and then began to cry.

This was followed by the sobs of Elisa Maza.

They weren't loud, but they were heard and felt by all who sensed that Goliath was gone.

------------

_...to be continued! Unlike with most season premieres, you won't have to wait very long for this next installment..only about a week! Stay tuned!_

_Tima_


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